


Once Upon a Dream

by jinwann



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 10:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 34,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4388291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinwann/pseuds/jinwann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chanyeol is the Prince Charming of fairytales. He's saved princesses and princes from the wrath of evil stepmothers and witches and broken curses with a kiss, but they've never been his true love. However, he hasn't given up hope yet- even when he stumbles upon five furious dragons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Cottage in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this was my first idea for this exchange. Then I switched my idea twice over the course of the writing period, and then finally settled on returning to my first fic idea for it to end up much longer than I was expecting. So thank you to my wonderful beta Reena for helping me pull this fic together and to everyone in the wonderful Team Peony- Oksana, Dana, Tiggie, and Ritzel- for listening to me whine and complain about changing ideas around and never settling on anything. And also thanks to everyone on my tlist for also listening to me complain about things and writing with me. Titles of the chapters are songs taken from Disney's original Sleeping Beauty soundtrack and modified in the Tchaikovsky ballet. This is the kind of fairytale story I've always wanted to write and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it! <3

It was a dark and stormy night.

Chanyeol inhales, bringing his horse to a stop in the center of a clearing. The trees surrounding him creak with a gust of the wind, leaves crinkling and crackling. The leaves that have fallen are dead. They skitter across the ground and crunch beneath his horse’s hooves. This pathway is only lit by the lantern he holds that threatens to blow out. The eerie, erratic light makes the trees seem like monsters in the dark, snarling, growling, howling monsters with the sharpest of teeth and the foulest of breaths. Chanyeol looks around, left, right, and behind, and ensures that he’s completely alone. He clenches the reins tighter as the wind whistles through the trees, making their gnarly smiles sicker, more terrifying. This isn’t the first time Chanyeol has traveled through this forest, and he isn’t afraid, but the shiver that runs down his spine keeps all his nerves on edge, fraying as the forest never seems to end before him. It seems like there’s no way out behind him or around him.

“Come on,” he murmurs, gently tugging on the reins of his horse. He pulls up his hood, keeping his head tucked down and cradles his lantern as thunder suddenly cracks through the sky. “The sooner we get out of here the better.”

The horse whinnies in response, kicking up his heels and pushing into a full gallop as they speed through the haunted forest. Chanyeol grits his teeth as the wind blows harder, sinking deep into his bones. He feels the hilt of his sword smacking against his side, a comfort in the face of danger.

Thunder cracks, lightning blazes the sky, and the trees take on faces of monsters engraved into the bark of their trunks. Chanyeol had been more frightened the first time he'd had to cross these woods on a worse night, darker and it poured like the skies mourned at the time. But these woods are still frightening when he trespasses in the night.

"Come on," he says, tugging on the reigns of his horse. "We're almost there."

And he's not sure who he's trying to assure with that.

The wind whips ferociously in his eyes, the tree branches sharp like knives as they split the cloth of his cloak and skim the flesh of his arms and his cheeks. The forest grows darker the farther he pushes through, and at some point he has to wonder if he's lost his way- if the witch had turned him around. But he feels that the end to the darkness is near, and the worst of his fears are almost over.

Then again, this wouldn't be the first time the witch had played him into a false sense of security. He'd saved a princess named Junhee just a few months ago and the witch had assured that he get turned around in the forest, wandering deeper and deeper every time he was sure he'd found his way out. He'd nearly died of starvation before pixies had come to his aid and showed him the way out.

And he’d thought that the struggles of the journey had been worth it upon sight of the princess. Junhee was beautiful upon first glance, long golden hair hung from the highest tower Chanyeol had ever laid eyes upon. She sang from her window, songs about the lanterns that float into the sky once a year. She sang and laughed from her tower, braiding her hair with the brightest of flowers and smiled upon Chanyeol when he'd rung for her hair.

The battle for her had been hard, the witch was unforgiving this time and had wanted the power of Junhee's hair- to live at the height of her youth forever- so desperately that she was willing to kill for it. Chanyeol left with more than a few scratches, a busted lip, a broken wrist, and a broken heart to match. But it was nothing new for Chanyeol who saved princesses and princes in distress and hoped that he was someone's Prince Charming.

The wind relents for a heartbeat, and Chanyeol knows he's found his way out. He whips the reins of his horse, taking up full speed into the darkest section of the grove where the trees look the most ferocious. After blowing out the lantern and tucking it away, he unsheathes his sword and begins to swing it, cutting away at the bramble and branches that block the exit. It's tough to break through, but he thanks that at least the blacksmith had thought to upgrade him with an mythril sword- stronger than anything he's ever wielded before.

After all, the blacksmith had told him with a sincere grin, saving princes and princesses was the toughest job in the country.

With a final swing of his sword, Chanyeol cuts through the last of the barricade and races through the outskirts of the forest. Night turns into day, the thunderstorm ends, the trees lose their grimaces and frowns and the leaves turn into the shimmery green of spring. The anxiety that had gripped his heart finally loosens its vice grip, his lungs expand and it feels like taking in the first breath of spring. Beyond the treacherous forest blooms flowers of all colors, fields of them line the ground beneath his horse's hooves. Everything is peaceful once again.

Chanyeol sheathes his sword and slides his hood off, taking a glance around at the scenery. How something so beautiful could be at the end of a forest so treacherous for the villagers and royalty that dare to wander through it is far beyond him. It's calming to finally be out of the forest and into a land Chanyeol has never really ventured into. He's saved his share of princes and princesses, but the forest is huge and there are so many lands beyond it that he's never seen before.

"Well the sooner we save the prince the sooner we go home," Chanyeol sighs, nervously fiddling with the reins around his wrist. His horse turns around and puffs air at him, nonplussed. Chanyeol can't help but laugh, patting the flank of his horse.

"I know the forest freaks you out. But I think I'm getting used to it--"

Another puff of air in his face hits, accompanied with the spit of his horse that douses his cheeks. He slowly wipes off the slobber, incredulous.

"Ugh, sick," he groans, shaking off the liquid away from him. But of course his horse simply whinnies and trots along like his job is only to mock Chanyeol instead of serve him.

Chanyeol bites his tongue and simply follows where his horse leads him. He's learned better than to retort when he should keep his mouth shut.

The sun rises higher in the afternoon sky, the birds chirping as Chanyeol continues wandering through the forest. He soon approaches a clearing, a field of wildflowers that fill his visions with every color. Chanyeol tugs on the collar of his shirt- it's hotter in the clearing without shade from the trees of the forest, but the field of flowers is nothing like he's ever seen before. Flowers of shades of blues and purples and pinks he's never seen before line the path of his horse's tracks, dancing in the wind that blows the seeds of dandelions away. Chanyeol inhales, taking in the scent of daisies and roses, wishing for a moment he could stay a bit longer. A place as magical as this is rare to come by in the Enchanted Forest.

But the pleads of pixies and dwarves fills his head and he swallows the guilt- vile in his mouth. There is no time to waste, he supposes. He is here for one purpose only.

He pushes through the field of flowers, pushing through the next patch of trees so tall the sky is obscured by the branches and leaves the size of Chanyeol's head. He hears squirrels and chipmunks skittering across the leaves, disappearing in trees and dancing around the path of his horse. The birds duck into their nests, chirping beside him as he passes. The wind brushes past, a breeze so gentle it barely moves the leaves of the trees, but it lets Chanyeol know he's close- so close to the end of the forest.

When he finally breaks through, the first thing that comes into view is a home of wood, small in size and thatched with hay. There is a small yard where the laundry hangs, small patches of flowers that grow in the colors of the field Chanyeol had passed through. He glances around but no one is in sight- no dwarves, no pixies, and no witches.

His eye catches a patch of flowers surrounding a glass box. It's a little ways off, closer to the edge of the forest. The bottom is engraved in gold, designs of flowers amidst swirls and the signs of royalty.

The glass dome houses a bed of flowers, atop which a prince sleeps. Chanyeol dismounts his horse, gripping the sword strapped to his side as he approaches the box. Sehun, the prince within that the pixies had told him about, has the reddest lips he's ever seen, akin to the deepest shade of a rose. The prince's cheeks are flushed pink, his face pale but his hair the darkest of night. His eyelashes are long, fanning against his cheeks as he sleeps peacefully. He holds a rose between his slim fingers, stark in color against the blue of his robes. He fits the description Chanyeol had been told, but the prince is more beautiful than he could've imagined.

He takes in a deep breath and lifts open the glass cover. The scent of the flower bed hits him, strong but still pleasant. Sehun lies still, almost as though his soul had passed, and though Chanyeol knows that the witch had only put Sehun to rest, the fleeting worry of death still passes through his mind.

He gets down on one knee and leans in close to Sehun's lips, close that they're only centimeters apart, but he stops short for a moment. He stares up at Sehun's eyes and takes in the sharpness of his cheeks and the way he looks so young asleep like this, chest a little tight, before he snaps back into his task. He closes his eyes and kisses Sehun, feeling the softness of the prince's lips and counting the seconds until he feels the prince stir beneath him.

Sehun groans, slowly moving his fingers, his legs, breathing before he slowly opens his eyes. He blinks at the harsh light of the sun, closes his eyes for a moment longer. His thin lips part as he takes in an inhale and takes in the feeling of being alive again.

"What... happened?" he whispers, voice raw and thick with exhaustion. The rose between his fingers rolls off of him and joins the bed of flowers beneath him.

"You ate a poisoned apple," Chanyeol says, clicking his tongue and calling his horse over. He rummages through the satchel swung over the saddle and pulls out sandwiches he'd packed beforehand. He pulls one out and offers it to Sehun. "Hungry?"

The prince nods, groaning as he sits up. He gratefully takes the sandwich from Chanyeol and eagerly takes the first bite. "I remember that," he murmurs, crumbs caught in the corner of his lips. Chanyeol runs his thumb across, swiping away the bread. Sehun manages a shy smile around the mouth of the water canteen Chanyeol hands him. "Did I sleep?"

Chanyeol nods. "You've been asleep for two weeks."

At that, Sehun stills, sandwich held before his mouth. He shows no outward surprise, but that's just how Sehun is. From what he's heard, Sehun is kind despite the feeling people get from his outer, hardened appearance.

"It's okay now," Chanyeol says, wrapping the half of his sandwich left and packing it back in the satchel. He stands up and stretches, feeling his spine crack as he twists around. "The army has pushed the witch back temporarily."

"And the dwarves?"

"The dwarves are fine- they were the ones who came to me and-" Chanyeol exhales, wringing his fingers in his horse's mane. His fingers tremble slightly beneath his gloves. "Prince Baekhyun is waiting for you."

Sehun stands up too fast, vision consumed suddenly by darkness and knees locking but Chanyeol is lucky to catch him around the waist. He leads Sehun back to the golden box and steadies the prince. Sehun has his head caught in his hands, willing for the blackness to fade.

Chanyeol waits.

"So Prince Baekhyun is waiting for me?"

Chanyeol nods, fists tightening by his sides. "He's been worried all this time," Chanyeol murmurs, trying to keep out any hints of malice by gritting his teeth, "so we should head out soon."

Sehun nods, sending Chanyeol a look for help. He stands up more steadily this time, works through the creaks and the stiffness of his muscles to get back onto the horse. Chanyeol puts his foot in the stirrups and swings himself onto the horse, sitting behind Sehun and passing him the reins. "Think you've still got it?"

Sehun smiles, and it's something almost brilliant. The gleam of mischief briefly clouds his eyes and he snaps the reins of the horse, turning them around and heading back through the forest now drenched in daylight.

Chanyeol spends the ride home with his hands hooked loosely around Sehun's waist, thinking. Prince Baekhyun isn't a bad guy, and he'd been so worried about Sehun. Chanyeol saw how he'd been sleepless for days, how little he ate, and how he'd soon become something of a skeleton compared to what he formerly was. He lead the battle to the witch, suffered a broken leg, and begged Chanyeol, begged Prince Charming, to bring his love home.

He saw the desperation, the sadness. And he saw that bringing Sehun home could restore Baekhyun to king, the role he rightfully deserved now.

They burst through the center clearing of the forest when Sehun turns around, glancing at him over his shoulder. "Something up?" he shouts over the roaring of the wind.

Chanyeol shakes his head, shifting uncomfortably in his spot. Sehun is beautiful, he thinks, and he imagines what it would be like if Sehun were his- if he finally saved a prince or a princess who picked to marry him instead of another. He wishes, for just a moment, that there was a prince who'd love him after he'd traversed the perils of the witch and saved him with a kiss. But the thought is fleeting, brushed off by the wind caressing his shoulders. His age old title of Prince Charming holds no meaning anymore- not when the world of fairytales has been changing so drastically around him.

"I'm fine," he murmurs, loosening his grip around Sehun's waist. "I'm just... tired."

Sehun snaps the reins of the horse, bursting out of the forest and into the edge of the village where the farmland lines the pathway to the castle. "Don't worry," he says, smile brighter yet than Chanyeol's seen before, "we're almost home."

Chanyeol plasters the fakest smile he can manage to his face. Jealousy is a nasty thing, Chanyeol knows, but he allows himself just this moment to envy the sweet love that Prince Baekhyun and Prince Sehun are sure to be graced with.

 

 

 

The marriage falls nearly as soon as Prince Sehun and Prince Baekhyun are reunited, and the ceremony is beautiful. People from all villages around make travel to the castle to witness the wedding. Both princes are dressed in robes of white and decorated in gold. Sehun wears a thin, gold crown of interlaced leaves around his head, vibrant against the black of his hair. Baekhyun wears the larger crown, the king's crown with the symbols and jewels of all nations. The streets are lined with lanterns laced in the branches of the trees and people are bustling in their fanciest clothes, smiling and laughing and cheering as the princes make their vows and kiss before them.

Chanyeol watches the festivities from the preparations to the princes' carriage disappearing over the rolling hills to the tropical island they plan to spend the next week together. He watches with a heavy heart because he's grown used to this, watching those he'd loved at first sight break his heart. Princess Junhee had soon married Prince Minho. He'd saved a merman named Kyungsoo, Prince of the Sea, who had married to a cute mermaid named Joohyun as soon as he was free from the clutches of the witch. He'd saved Prince Yifan from the clutches of his evil family- oh how they'd worked him like a slave- but the way he'd looked up at Chanyeol made his heart beat even harder and faster than he'd ever felt it. But he'd soon run away to explore the world after leaving Chanyeol behind with a kiss goodbye. 

Chanyeol has grown so used to this that he'd figured there's always someone or something better out there for everyone. One day he'll find the true love he's been looking for, and he has to remind himself that today simply isn't that day.

As soon as the festivities die down and the streets begin to clear as people travel back to their villages, he strolls through the streets and through the farms to his home. He picks up an apple from a vendor stall near the castle walls, smiling at the old woman sweetly as he tosses her a few extra gold coins from his pocket than the apple's worth. He bites away at the apple, feeling satisfied at the crunch and the sweet taste of the apple against his tongue, but after only a few bites he feeds the rest of it to his horse as he saddles up and rides out.

The shoreline is not far by horseback from the castle. Chanyeol rides out for what feels like only minutes, speeding through the forest that lines the village surrounding the castle until he breaks through and hits a small sandy beach. He shields his eyes from the setting sun as it hits him suddenly, squinting at the ends of the beach and along where the waves crash against the bank to find not a soul in sight- at least, not above the water.

He heads out for a more secluded section of the beach, a small outcrop sectioned away by boulders stacked upon each other like a wall. Chanyeol swings off his horse and leaves him on the beach while he clambers over the rocks. He kicks up sand as he lands, boots leaving tracks as he makes to sit closer to the water. There's a small whistle shaped almost like a shell he'd tucked into his pocket, one he generally keeps in his satchel so he doesn't lose it. He holds it between his fingers, passing it between the tips of his thumb and his index finger until he looks out into the ocean and blows it. It's soundless to his own ears, but not for what lives out in the ocean.

"I figured today of all days you'd at least have something better to do than come bother me."

Chanyeol smiles wryly, tucking the whistle back in his pocket. "And I figured you'd at least have a few comforting words for me since I've come out all this way to see you, Kyungsoo."

The merman huffs, water rippling around his face. He kicks his shimmery red tail up, scooping up water and aiming it for Chanyeol. The water bomb hits its mark and Chanyeol is soaked head to toe, sputtering out sea water caught in his mouth.

"Right, you were saying?"

Chanyeol spits out the salt water gathering in his cheeks and pushes his damp bangs over his forehead. "I can't come see my best fish friend--"

"--I am not a fish!--"

"--without going back looking like a drenched pup?"

Kyungsoo huffs, kicking up his tail again and splashing a bit more water into Chanyeol's lap. He pushes his hair from his eyes and sinks a little deeper into the water. "If you'd wanted to come see me so casually, you wouldn't have come in your finest wedding clothes just after the royal wedding."

"So?" Chanyeol mumbles, pulling his knees up to his chest. "I figured you needed reminding about how wonderful I am."

Scoffing, Kyungsoo hauls himself up to the shoreline, pushing himself back onto the sandy bank until he's comfortable beside Chanyeol. His tail stretches out into the water, fins breaking the incoming waves. "Right," he sighs, "as if I'd ever forget how wonderful you are."

Chanyeol bites down on his lips, resting his chin on his knees.

"Well," Kyungsoo says, "if you're here to remind me that you're a wonderful friend, I think you've already messed that one up. I left Joohyun babysitting her 3 baby nieces alone and, needless to say, she has no previous experience even holding a baby. Imagine trying to keep track of two baby mermen and a mermaid who already swim far too well for their own good."

Kyungsoo looks out into the ocean, leaning back on the palms of his hands. "And if you're here to find comfort for feeling like you're missing out on love again, I only have the same words of advice I've been giving you for months."

Chanyeol looks over at his friends, squinting at the sun setting behind the merman.

"What are you waiting for?" Kyungsoo says. "Why sit around waiting for love?"

"Easier said than done," Chanyeol exhales. He kicks off his shoes and digs his toes in the sand, pressing his cheek harder into his knees. "You haven't kissed so many good looking people."

Kyungsoo scoffs, "As if. You're far from my level."

Chanyeol manages to crack a smile. He shifts a little uncomfortably, resting his chin back on his knees. "So what should I do?" he sighs. "What am I doing wrong?"

Smiling, Kyungsoo begins inching back into the water, eyes reflecting the shining glint of his tail as he glances back at Chanyeol. "Well, you have two options," he says, already waist deep into the water. "You can keep sitting on your ass and hoping that love will come find you, or you can venture out and find the love you're looking for."

"But what if--"

Kyungsoo kicks up his tail, splashing Chanyeol once more. "Figure it out," he says with a smile. "You can be sort of smart when you're not being stupid all the time."

"Why do I even consider you a friend."

"Because let's face it: you need someone smarter to think of these things for you."

"Hey!"

Kyungsoo chuckles, almost fully submerged in the water again. Only his head peeks out from the ocean water. "We all find love in the end, Chanyeol. Don't forget that."

Chanyeol huffs, watching his friend disappear beneath the waves soon after. The sun is low in the horizon, and he should be leaving now to make it home before it's completely dark, but the rhythmic, constant breaking of the waves on the shore is comforting in a way and it's hard to pull away from it. But he doesn't fancy spending a night in the forest so he dusts the sand off his wet clothes and hops over the rocks and back onto his horse.

He supposes Kyungsoo is right, but it's nothing Chanyeol hasn't already told himself before. But he'd hoped Kyungsoo saying his thoughts aloud might shed a light in his own mind. Yet, there are still questions left unanswered. What is he so afraid of anyway?

The rest of the ride to his home behind the castle is silent, even the crickets and cicadas seem to be lost in their own thoughts that they've forgotten to come out and chirp. It's a restless night for Chanyeol in the silence he comes home to and the darkness that swallows him up.

 

 

 

Everything is quiet in the village for a couple weeks. It gives Chanyeol some time for himself, to hunt for enough food to last him the rest of the month and spend some time helping around the village. Days pass by lazily, the same every day, and Chanyeol eventually forgets his worries as the village children drag him to the swings and crawl on his lap and ask him to play ‘Save the princesses and princes from the dragons’.

Every day passes the same until Chanyeol comes home from his hunt one day to the Jung sisters sitting on his doorstep, waving at him frantically.

"Uncle Chanyeol!" Soojung yells, waving both her arms over her head. Her pigtails bounce on her shoulders as she jumps up and down, only quelled by her sister's hand on her dress.

"Uncle Chanyeol! Papa needs your help!" Sooyeon yells.

Chanyeol shifts his catch of small animals into one hand and opens the door. "Why don't you girls come inside and tell me what's up?"

The sisters nod, timidly holding hands and stepping inside the household. Chanyeol's home is not big nor is it really furnished, but he doesn't spend too much time at home anyway. This home is simply a place for him to sleep and eat.

Chanyeol puts his catch into the sink to wash and clean for later. He cleans up his hands, then goes to the cupboard where he keeps the chocolate chip cookies he buys from the market for the kids who come by. Sooyeon and Soojung look thrilled when Chanyeol hands them each a cookie.

"So what does your papa need help with?" he says, sitting on his knees so that he's eye level with the eight and five year old.

Soojung is still trying to process the massive bite of the cookie she'd taken while Sooyeon eats a bit more peckish. "Our sheep are missing!" she exclaims, waving her hand with the cookie around so that the crumbs spill all over the floor. "I counted the sheep and we have thirteen but when I came outside to count them again after I did my school work, there were only twelve!"

"And then it happened again!" Soojung chirps, mouth surrounded by cookie crumbs and chocolate remnants. "I counted twelve sheep and then when I came back from playing 'Dragon and Princess' with Sunyoung and Jinri there were only eleven sheep!"

Chanyeol purses his lips in thought. The girls aren't ones to cry wolf if there's no danger, but there's nothing that comes to his mind immediately as to why the sheep would go missing- unless it was something so simple that they'd wandered into the nearby forest or into someone else's farmland.

He stands up with a groan, knees cracking as he moves to grab his bow and bag of arrows. "Let's go back to your papa and I'll see where I can start looking for the sheep."

"Can we ride your horse today, uncle?" Sooyeon asks, bouncing on her heels. "Please, please, pretty pleeeeeeeeease?"

Chanyeol can never say no to children pouts, and the Jung sisters have a particularly fatal technique down to a tee. His smile already has the two girls jumping up and down. They're out the door before him as he's running his mental checklist to make sure he's brought everything to go hunting.

As he closes the door, he considers bringing his sword. It's heavy, but whatever is causing the sheep to disappear can't be a good thing if they've gone into the forest. He decides it's better to be safe than sorry and quickly straps the sword around his waist.

The girls are already out by his horse, petting as far high up as they can reach. Chanyeol hoists them up first, Soojung in the front and Sooyeon behind her. Then he grabs the reins around them and takes the horse slow. They don't live far apart from each other so he doesn't mind being safer and ensuring no one slides off the horse. The ride is short but filled with excited squeals by the girls and the endless questions they have for him about saving princes and princesses and fighting dragons (which he has never actually done but the girls seem so enthusiastic that it's hard to get 'no' through their heads).

"Uncle!" Soojung exclaims from the front. "Uncle, our black sheep is gone!"

Sooyeon starts wiggling in her spot, and Chanyeol puts a protective hand on her waist to keep her from toppling off. "But Jaju is our favorite sheep!" Sooyeon says, trying to look at Chanyeol over her shoulder while keeping her balance. "You have to find him, uncle Chanyeol!"

Chanyeol sighs. "Alright, stay calm. You never know if your black sheep is just playing hide and seek."

Both girls turn to look at him, unamused and lips downturned into a frown.

"Okay, I'll help look in the forest for him," he says, stopping the horse close to the backdoor of their home. He hops off first, then lets both girls down. The girls burst into the house, pulling their papa out by the hand to tell Chanyeol about the mysterious disappearances of their sheep.

In the midst of discussing the topic, Sooyeon suddenly points to the sky. "Look, papa! There's a big bird with our sheep!" Chanyeol whips around and looks to find a large black shadow disappearing from sight.

"I'll go track it- find out where your sheep have been going," he says, clicking his tongue and calling his horse a bit closer. He hops on easily and starts riding out. "I'll let you know what I find!" he yells out behind him, the Jung sisters waving behind him. His focus now is solely on the bird and where in the forest the bird is flying off to.

He follows behind as closely as he can to the shrinking dot in the distance, urging his horse faster and faster until they burst into the forest, hot on the bird's tail. It doesn't strike him odd that the bird seems to grow larger and larger the closer they get, nor why the bird would take an animal as big as the sheep. He focuses on avoiding the trees, directing his horse through the maze of the forest until they reach a clearing, close enough to the bird that he has a chance at shooting.

He makes quick work with the arrows first, dumping the vial of poison he keeps with him over the tips of the arrows before lining it up to the string of the recurve bow and resting the body of the arrow on his hand. He points up, taking aim at the shrinking shadow of the bird and firing.

The arrow whizzes through the air, string vibrating against his ear and shaking the wood of his bow before swinging just shy of the bird. He curses- now he's alerted the bird to his presence. The bird is already beginning to panic, frozen in the air before attempting to fly off as fast as it can. Chanyeol does not have much time before he almost loses sight of the bird and in his haste, dumps the entire vial of poison over his arrow before taking aim, squinting at his target and positioning his arrow, before drawing the string, aiming, and firing.

He does not miss the second time. He watches as the arrow zips through the air, bursting into the cloudless sky to hit its mark at the underside of the bird's belly. He watches with enthusiasm and fascination as the bird crumples, the sheep falling from its grip before it plummets deeper into the forest. Chanyeol yells the command at his horse to push forward and race toward where he predicts the bird had fallen. It takes longer than he expects, the bird must have been farther than he predicted, but he comes to a clearing of snapped tree branches and a growing pile of fresh underbrush from the broken trees.

He hears a pained growl and stops the horse in its tracks, the horse rearing back at him in light of the sudden stop. He pets the horses mane, pleading it to calm down as he dismounts, tossing the bow aside and clinging to the hilt of his sword at his belt. He tiptoes through the brush, trying not to let it creak under his feet as he pushes away collapsed tree trunks and strewn branches.

He finds the sheep- dead from the fall, because the pained growl did not come from the silent black sheep.

It instead comes from the massive leathery set of ruby wings crumpled over a man just meters from the sheep.

He holds his breath and attempts to back away, realizing the danger that he might be in should he be spotted by whatever it is that had stolen the sheep, but his feet crunch over the fallen tree branches and suddenly the winged form is startled, wings jerking in reaction to the sound.

Chanyeol is frozen as he watches the scarlet wings unfold, pushing away until they reveal a man underneath- one who looks as though he can't be older than Chanyeol. The messy mop of brown hair falls into the man's burning red eyes as he yells out, hand gripping underneath him as he struggles to stand, pulling himself up from the ground and letting his wings be dragged lifelessly behind him. The messy mop of brown hair is un-matching to the man's weak stance, because the glare of the red eyes Chanyeol accidentally looks into has him trembling.

The man stumbles back, crying as he clutches his stomach, and Chanyeol can see that the wings are attached to the man's back, breaking through the tan, smooth skin. His shaky exhale is caught in his throat, hand frozen over the hilt of his sword as he tries to get his mind around the situation. The man rolls over onto his back, crying with the most heart wrenching scream Chanyeol's ever heard, to reveal his hands pressing fiercely into his stomach, drenched in the darkest blood, surrounding the golden feathered arrow lodged in his abdomen.

Chanyeol's arrow. Chanyeol's poison tipped arrow.

He takes another step back, heading for his horse, cringing as he once more steps over the fallen branches. The being is once more alerted to him, and Chanyeol remains still with his fingers frozen over the hilt of his sword, ready to pull it from his side at a moment's notice.

He can't help but cringe as the man stands once more with the arrow lodged in his abdomen, as his grip tightens and loosens with each drunk sway of his body, as the color floods in and out of his face. Chanyeol pulls his sword further out of its sheath, fingers frozen on the hilt as he cautiously steps away with each step forward the beast takes.

But the beast looks up at him, enraged, growling to convey both his pain and his anger. His eyes alight in a bright red, brighter than the maroon of his wings and reminiscent of the hottest fire. He steps forward and Chanyeol falls back, he takes two steps forward and Chanyeol, with fear gripping tightly around his throat, can only take one step back.

He screams as fire alights before his eyes, crawling up the underbrush and licking the ends of his shoes. The wall soars up above him before it disappears, the beast closer than before as it snarls and stumbles forward. The beast closes in quickly, wings outstretched around him, broadening his figure, sending fear shooting into Chanyeol's veins until he's falling, tripping over his own feet. From where he sits, the beast looks ready to kill.

He scrambles for his sword, fumbling to get the blade out and cursing as his clumsy fingers drop the sword from his grasp. He panics, struggling to pick up the sword and stand ready. Fire alights before him, closer, burning hotter as it singes the ends of his clothes. He quickly aims the sword out in front of him and locks in on his target, praying that the sudden sway of courage will keep his hands steady.

"I'll do it!" he yells, but the beast's cries swallow it up, silence him. "I'll swing!" But the beast's hand fists the collar of his shirt and hoists him up off the ground. He comes to face piercing red eyes, completely locking up his throat. He clenches the hilt of the sword tighter, struggling to force his limbs to work though he hangs midair, above the winged beast.

But with an effortless toss, the beast throws him aside. His back crashes against a tree, and all he can feel is a shooting pain radiating from his shoulder where it had hit the trunk. He clenches his eyes shut and groans, watching his vision fade out to black and his consciousness fade momentarily. The beast is approaching him, maybe to ensure that he's passed out or dead, but Chanyeol doesn't let this chance pass up. He discreetly switches the sword to his uninjured arm and as soon as the beast is close enough, so close that Chanyeol can feel the beast's breath on his neck, he swings the sword and stabs the beast.

The beast howls in pain, crumpling to the ground on his side in a heap of his wings. His body looks more frail than ever as he clutches at it desperately, crying out in pain once more. Chanyeol can't stand the sound, how the beast's cries are so maddeningly sad, so human, the pain is almost tangible what he feels. Once his vision clears, he watches the beast before him. Like a newborn deer, the beast stumbles forward on its weak legs, trembling under the sudden weight of his body. A hand remains clutched desperately at his abdomen while the other gently cradles the wing around his frail body, bleeding out over his palms and dripping into the underbrush. The sword had struck through the beast's wing, singeing the area around it and burning it, increasing the size until Chanyeol imagines he could stick his entire fist through.

The sudden movement of his shoulder makes him wince, jaw dropping in a sudden yell as his hand raises to cradle his shoulder. While it isn't sore to the touch, any simple movement causes a sharp pain to ripple throughout his shoulder. He's sure it's dislocated, thankfully not nearly as difficult as a problem as the beast's.

The beast hunches over, down on his knees, retching into the dirt of the forest floor. The poison is starting to take its effect. It's enough to kill an animal, but it's only strong enough to make a person sick to their stomach for days. Chanyeol isn't sure which will happen to the beast, but for the safety of his life, he hopes it's the former.

Because if there are other beasts around, he will surely not see the lights of his village outside of the forest again.

"Jongin!" The shout comes from nearby. Chanyeol can hear the crunch of footsteps over the branches, quick in succession as multiple people approach. He makes to stand, find his horse, and make his escape out of his forest but his dislocated shoulder slows him down just long enough. He manages to stand, chest heaving for air by the time he's leaning all his weight on the tree behind him, before anyone shows up into the clearing. He scrambles for his sword and tries to leave, and he isn't sure whether it's his guilty conscience or fear that slows him down, but he loses his chance to flee when he comes face to face with three men, two shorter than himself- both with anger in their eyes, and one nearly as tall as him, dark gaze unrelenting and harsh.

"Jongin!" One of the shorter men call out, bursting past Chanyeol into the clearing behind him where the beast he'd slain still clutches his wounds, retching into the dirt and howling, crying in pain. The last man, icy blue eyes wide in anger fists the collar of his shirt and tugs him down to his eye level.

"What the fuck have you done," he whispers, voice almost murderous as he strikes a chord of fear in Chanyeol's body. And while he is certainly not as scared as he was facing a beast- a monster- he is nevertheless caught in the hands of fear once more.

"Look, it was an accident- I didn't mean to-" and he glances back at the beast, crying out in pain as the two men who'd come to assist him try to hoist him up. With no energy left, the beast sinks back to the ground, crying out as his wound opens even more.

"Luhan, we have to get him to Yixing!" the shorter man yells, trying to remain strong though the subtle tremors of his voice convey a deep-sunken fear. He continues to take survey of the damage, noticing the hand pressed against his abdomen and cringing at the sight of the torn wing. Chanyeol can't hear what else the man says whilst he's knelt before the beast, cupping his face in his hands. The shake in his hands is noticeable, even for Chanyeol, but that doesn't stop the man from taking control and helping to lift the beast from the ground as painlessly as possible. He takes the brunt of the weight, and would probably carry the beast on his back had there not been an arrow in the beast's side. Instead, he helps hoist the limp body into the tallest man's arms, hooking an arm around his back and one behind the bend of his knees, speaking in more hushed whispers.

"This man has to be the cause of it!" the man who Chanyeol presumes is Luhan yells, fisting the collar of his shirt tighter, nearly clawing his shirt. Chanyeol looks into the man's icy blue eyes, if not even darker than the beast's red eyes, and his whole body freezes.This man has to be another beast- they all have to be! He'd been caught by a horde of them and at this point, it seems unlikely he'll escape their clutches. Were they going to keep him captive? Ransom him for money? Eat him?

"Luhan, go help Zitao take care of Jongin. I'll take care of this guy."

Luhan sends a last glaring look at Chanyeol, who is still struck by fear of the entire situation at hand. It comes as a shock when he feels the heat of fire- and then sees the flames right before his eyes that he stumbles back into the ground, crying out as his shoulder moves further out of place. Still dazed by the fire, he stays frozen in shock on the ground until the beast is out of sight.

"Your hair's on fire."

Chanyeol blinks once. Twice. Three times. He looks up at the last man with him and then looks down at his hand. He doesn't think it could be possible to be any more shocked than the is, until he lifts a hand up to his curly hair to feel a small flame licking at his palm.

"Ah!" Chanyeol exclaims, blowing where the flame had burned his good palm before licking his thumb and index fingers and stamping the last of the flickers of fire in his hair. He heaves out a sigh of relief, hoping his hair won't look any different than when he'd entered the forest. He doubts it, but something good has to go for him today.

He heaves a sigh, struggling to stand again. He uses his good hand to dust the dirt off his trousers, wincing as his bad shoulder shifts a little. His horse must have run off with the noise because he can't hear his horse's indignant whinnies. Now that he looks around, and the reality of the situation really sinks in, he isn't even sure where he is in the forest.

"Now what," he huffs, frustrated and shoulder becoming increasingly uncomfortable. The afternoon sun is high over his head, beating down on him, but he doesn't know when he'll make it back to the Jung's farm.

He flinches with the gentle press of a hand to his arm, glancing down at the last man to remain. The man has warm brown eyes, which eases a bit of the tension knotting in his chest. At least he can hope that the man is actually a human, rather than whatever Blue Eyes and Red Eyes are. His face is round, youthful and flushed red from exertion. His lips are a full red, raw most likely from chewing on it in his anxiety. Chanyeol can see the man is still worried about what had happened, and if Chanyeol hadn't known better he wouldn't have noticed the man was even afraid. The brave front he puts up is almost believable.

"Why don't I help you with your shoulder?" he asks. Chanyeol can see the way he cringes at the sight and he can only imagine how grotesque it must look. But if he wants to make it out alive from the forest, it's probably better that he gets to know the man so that he can show him the way out.

"That would be great," he sighs, kicking out a patch of the dirt. "Thanks." He quickly searches for the sword or the arrows he'd brought, finally catching sight of the sword near the tree he'd been thrown against, but he doesn't take more than three steps towards it.

"I suggest you leave that there," the man interjects, and the anger comes flooding back into his voice so as to make Chanyeol shiver, "if you'd like to leave the forest as you came."

The chilling warning is enough to get Chanyeol to turn around and start following the man through the forest, though the sword is his best and his bow had been his father's. And explaining how the ends of his hair are burnt or the claw marks in his shirt, the dirt in his skin and the visible fear that's still written on his face will be no easy task without freaking everyone in the village out.

He follows the man quietly, being careful to step where the man steps because he warns about traps he's set up to catch food, the holes he's dug to catch anything from rabbits to bears. It's not so easy living in the forest, especially when you have five other ravenous mouths to feed.

Five, Chanyeol blanches. Five beasts to feed. He almost trips with the sudden clutch of fear that takes a hold of his throat.

"So, tell me what happened just now," the man says, stopping in his tracks. Chanyeol nearly runs into him but manages to catch himself in time. "If you want me to help you, I want you to tell me everything."

Chanyeol pauses. "Well-"

"-Minseok-"

"-Right, Minseok," Chanyeol sighs, anxiously tapping his fingers against his thighs. "I'm Chanyeol."

Minseok does not make a sound. They continue on their trail through the forest, the crunch of forest floor under their feet ringing louder in his ear. If he listens closely, he's almost sure he can hear the howls of the beast he'd injured. Something vile gets lodged in his throat, making him gag. "I watched a sheep being taken from a farm, and so I came to hunt a bird-"

"-Jongin-"

"-I'm sorry?"

Minseok looks up in him, a subtle fury burning under his skin but he doesn't convey it. Instead he looks more unamused, a frown creasing his brows. "That 'bird' you shot down is Jongin, part the last of the dragon race, and you have the nerve to mistake him for a bird?"

Chanyeol clenches his teeth. Minseok is furious.

And then the notion hits him. Dragon. He shot down a dragon.

An actual dragon.

"Well how was I supposed to know?!"

Minseok glares in his direction, crossing his arms over his chest. "You weren't. That's the point."

Chanyeol falls silent. There was nothing in the legends, nothing in all the stories he's read that dragons were still alive- or could shapeshift into various forms of human. Dragons had all been a silly story parents told their children to make them do their chores, never an ounce of truth to their existence.

They continue their walk in silence for a bit until Minseok continues to urge what had happened out of him. "Well," Chanyeol sighs, trying to keep his voice low in hopes that Minseok will be mad at him less, "I took Jongin down with a poisoned arrow-

"What kind of poison?"

Chanyeol swallows thickly, keeping eyes down. "It won't kill him. Since he's half human, he'll probably just be sick for a few days."

He hears Minseok's exhale. It calms him down a little.

"I tried to escape after that but Jongin grabbed me and threw me against the tree- hence the shoulder," he continues, trying to keep his eyes off of said shoulder. Minseok looks back at his shoulder as if trying to quickly assess the damage. "I freaked out after that. I thought I was going to pass out and Jongin was approaching me."

"So you swung your sword," Minseok finishes. "By the damage, I'm presuming it's mythril."

Chanyeol nods, trying his best not to look Minseok in the eye. He feels absolutely horrible at this point. He's never one to swing his sword if he doesn't have to, but now he can only imagine the pain the poor dragon is in and Chanyeol feels absolutely rotten.

"Well you managed to hit Jongin with a dragon's biggest weakness," Minseok sighs, wringing his hands together. "He'll heal though, so don't worry too much."

Chanyeol nods silently. He still feels awful, but he can't think of a word to say that would convey to Minseok just how sorry he feels.

The walk feels far too long, the afternoon sky is already dipping into dusk and the walk seems unending with how awkward and tense the atmosphere has become. Chanyeol wants to say something, anything to ease the anxiety squeezing his heart, but anything at this moment would feel empty. He could only guess how Minseok feels. If he were in the same position, he wouldn't really want to talk to the person who harmed, what Chanyeol presumes as, his best friend.

A small cottage shrouded by trees starts to appear before them. It's in a small clearing of burned trees and dying brush, the scent of smoke permeating the area. The lights are turned on in the house and Chanyeol can't see anyone from the window, but that doesn't ease the anxiety burning hot in his chest. Who knows how fast a dragon could roast him alive.

"Take a seat on the porch, I'll grab some things to fix up your shoulder," Minseok says, pressing a gentle hand to Chanyeol's shoulder. He disappears into the house, shutting the door quick enough that Chanyeol can't hear anyone talking, or cursing at him, inside.

He sits on the top step of the porch, shaded by the deck. He cradles his shoulder, straining to both keep his curiosity at bay and listen at the commotion inside. Chanyeol can't hear a thing inside, so he sits on the porch and watches the sun set. Maybe there's some way he could apologize to Jongin.

The door creaks open and Minseok comes back outside with a box of medicines and a cloth shirt in hand, but he doesn't come back out alone. There's another person following him, same height but with broader shoulders and bright green eyes. As kind as Minseok's face has become from how furious he was before, the newcomer's face is the exact opposite. His green eyes are fierce,angry. Chanyeol swallows thickly as the other man stands before him, arms folded over his chest and gaze threatening to burn through Chanyeol's very heart.

"Don't just stand there and stare, Jongdae. Come help me with this," Minseok says, clicking open the medicine box and fishing through it. Jongdae huffs, a grey cloud of smoke puffing out from his mouth. He grabs the cloth Minseok holds out for him and tosses it carelessly into Chanyeol's face.

"Bite it," he seethes.

"Jongdae."

Said man- dragon?- huffs and turns his back to Chanyeol. "I don't have to be nice with him. He'll fuck off soon and we won't have to see his face around--"

"Jongdae!" Minseok says sternly, smacking Jongdae lightly on the calf. He pulls out a pill bottle and shifts to better stand before Chanyeol. "You don't have to be rude." But even that doesn't sound unkind from Minseok's mouth.

He couldn't imagine it before, but Chanyeol feels even worse than before.

"Take this," Minseok says, holding out the bottle. It's filled with a strangle liquid Chanyeol can't really tell the color of. It looks way too suspicious but he doesn't think upsetting Minseok in front of a dragon would be a good idea so he takes the bottle and takes as much as a sip. Surprisingly, it doesn't taste too horribly, mostly of mint and other spices that warm up his chest. He takes a little more as the warmth spreads through, more until Minseok has to force the bottle away from his mouth.

"What was that," he murmurs, tongue thick and heavy in his mouth. He feels as if he's talking with his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

"Anesthetic," Minseok replies, handing Chanyeol the cloth. "Bite it. This should be over in a minute."

Chanyeol warily takes the cloth and bites down on it. Jongdae is still glaring at him, maybe imagining what his roasted body looks like if he'd burn it to a crisp in revenge.

Minseok presses gentle fingers along his shoulder, pressing gently until he hits a spot on the back of Chanyeol's shoulder that makes him grit his teeth and groan. Minseok prods around the area a bit more, maybe finding how far the pain spreads out or maybe just torturing Chanyeol for as long as possible. When he's finally satisfied, he grips Chanyeol's shoulder and inhales.

"This will probably still hurt," he whispers. "Just be lucky we still keep anesthetic around."

Chanyeol smiles meekly. How lucky indeed.

"I'm going to count back from five and then pop your shoulder into place. It'll only hurt for a little bit."

Chanyeol takes a deep breath and nods. He shuts his eyes tight and digs his nails into the fabric of his pants, wringing the fabric tight.

"Five, four, three--" and Chanyeol suddenly feels an immense amount of pain, flooding his shoulder like a sword had just sliced deeply into the bone. He cries out, biting down harder on the cloth in his mouth and yelling out around it. It hurts like pins and needles being pushed through his shoulder and deep into the tissue around the bones, like fire licking at his shoulder, melting the bones Minseok had snapped back into place.

"You should be fine tomorrow," Minseok says, standing up and dusting off his trousers. "It may be sore a bit but it'll wear off.

Jongdae is still seething, green eyes burning brighter with fury. "You're lucky you just escaped with that. I wish I could give you Jongin's pain tenfold just so you know how it feels."

Minseok looks far too exasperated to even warn Jongdae anymore. He holds out his hand and helps Chanyeol stand, holding him steady as he regains his balance. "Come on, I'll show you the way out."

Chanyeol nods dumbly, still feeling the anesthetic in his body. He turns around to look at Jongdae once more. The dragon watches him walk away, sending a shiver down his spine. And as soon as they've walked far enough, Jongdae disappears back into the house.

Chanyeol sighs, trying to keep his mind off of today and trying to remember the way they're traveling. It's difficult to find, he has to admit. The trees in this area are all enchanted, they all look the same, and it's difficult for Chanyeol to keep up with the twists and turns Minseok keeps making through the trees. The fact that the sun has almost set and the forest is so dark, lit up only by fireflies and pixie trails, makes it even harder. His mind starts wandering as soon as he feels like he's lost track of where they are, or maybe they're closer to the village lands than he'd thought. He hopes his horse has made it home, safe and is not too startled. The scare the poor Jung sisters must have had if his horse had run straight to their home without him. Just the thought of tears running down their faces makes his heart ache. First thing he'll do is see them, tell them it's nothing to be afraid of and that their sheep shouldn't go missing anymore.

Hopefully.

"We're almost there," Minseok says, pushing aside a low hanging tree branch. He makes his way through a section of low hanging trees and high raised grass. It's almost like a fence to the pathway, Chanyeol muses, using his good arm to hold the branches away from his face. He's still too wary, pain still too raw, to move his other arm.

They walk a few more meters forward, and Chanyeol makes sure to keep count of the time it takes, before Minseok comes to a stop before an oddly shaped bush. It looks similar to a mushroom, Chanyeol thinks, but he keeps the landmark in mind.

"Just walk a few yards straight from here and you'll reach the village by nightfall." Minseok shifts anxiously on his feet, trying hard not to look Chanyeol in the eye.

"Is there anything I can do or say to apologize?" Chanyeol murmurs, taking Minseok's hands between his. He's not sure why he does so, or why his heart feels like it might punch through his chest, but he wants to come off as being sincere. "It's really not my intention to hurt anyone. I'm really, really sorry about today too. Jongin," and Chanyeol inhales, "he might be sick for a couple days- I've seen the poison make a person retch a few times while they're sick- so just... make sure Jongin gets enough fluids. He won't be able to keep much else down but it's just a temporary sickness." Chanyeol bites down on his lip, feeling a bout of nervousness surge up to his throat. He runs his hands through his bangs harshly, trying to think through his worries and the anesthetic clouding his mind. "I guess I can't say I'm sorry enough."

Minseok manages a smile and untwines his hands from Chanyeol's, patting the taller's arm gently. "It's okay. We'll manage like we've always done. We're tough out here."

The silence that falls feels terse. Chanyeol feels like he hasn't said enough, he hasn't apologized enough and he really hopes that all the dragons, especially Jongin, can forgive him. He'd hate to have to stay away from something so magical so close to him. He's sure the dragons are fascinating, at least when they're not considering ripping his esophagus out of his chest.

“Thank you, Minseok. At least for taking the time to fix my shoulder.” Chanyeol shyly rubs the back of his neck.

Minseok nods in his direction, a small smile crossing his features. “I know you were probably just scared. Don’t think too much on it.”

And after that, there isn't any more that Chanyeol can say or do that would fix anything today. He keeps his lips pressed together, giving Minseok a nod in his direction as he leaves. Minseok nods back at him and disappears in the other direction before Chanyeol has taken twelve paces forward. His heart aches then for reasons he doesn't understand but what he presumes to be guilt.

He follows Minseok's directions and walks straight ahead until he hits the edge of the village. He's not far off from where he'd burst into the forest earlier on his horse, and it's only a few moments more, after the sun has dipped behind the mountains and the moon is beginning to appear over the trees, that he appears in front of the Jung household, knocking on their door after changing into a shirt without dragon claws ripped through it.

To his surprise, there are two princesses standing at the door, arms crossed with the remnants of tear tracks down their faces. Chanyeol smiles wryly, getting down on one knee to face the two sisters.

"I must have worried you, princesses," he murmurs, keeping his head tipped down. "I've hopefully ensured that your sheep aren't to be stolen again."

Soojung is the first to break, frown turning down even more into a sad pout as the tears start to roll down her cheeks again. She surges forward into Chanyeol's chest, hiccuping into the fabric of his shirt. "I was so scared!" she sobs. Sooyeon immediately follows, breaking out into tears and pulling herself into Chanyeol's chest. "Your horse was so scared and we thought you wouldn't come back!"

Chanyeol sighs, heart wrenching as their tears soak into his shirt. He wraps both arms around the little girls and brings them into an embrace. "I'm sorry," he murmurs, pressing kisses to both their heads. "I won't scare you again anymore." He shushes them and rubs their backs, waiting until their sobs subside before he takes a girl into each arm and carries them into the house. He sends their father an almost embarrassed look, but the haggard, tired man pays him no mind and smiles kindly as he wanders back into bed.

He tucks the girls in and stays with them until they fall asleep. As soon as he's sure Soojung won't wake up once he untangles his hand from her death grip, he tip toes out of the house, gathers his horse from their stable, and walks back to his own home.

Looking at it now, it looks terribly lonely. There are no lights turned on, not a peep stirs from within the house, and from the looks of the outside, there's barely a hint that anyone lives there at all. Chanyeol thinks back to the forest, Minseok especially, as he sheds off his clothes and changes into the sleep clothes he keeps hung on his bedpost. He can't keep his mind off of today. The more he tries to sleep, the more he thinks about the dragons. The guilt keeps him up so late, tossing and turning until the moon shines bright in his window.

The stress of the day finally overtakes him and he drifts into sleep. He'll find the dragons again and he'll apologize to them, but the last thing on his mind is his imagination running wild with images of the curve of Minseok's eyes and lips if he'd earnestly smile up at him someday.


	2. An Unusual Prince

Chanyeol has been known to be a bit stubborn.

It's a character flaw, Kyungsoo had joked back when he'd had his voice stolen by the witch. He sat in a field full of flowers on his own two feet next to Chanyeol, who had gasped, whined, and flopped onto the man, but Kyungsoo had laughed and tugged on Chanyeol's arm to write out his explanation. Chanyeol would never back down from a challenge, no matter how badly he was outnumbered nor how much weaker he may have been from his opponent. Chanyeol did anything anyone asked of him, no matter how difficult the task.

Chanyeol himself doesn't find anything so bad about it, but Kyungsoo had warned him. There would be someone who wouldn't take too kindly to sticking around like glue and pursuing apologies and goals until he was satisfied.

And that person had turned out to be Minseok and the dragons he lived with.

Chanyeol had at least thought through his plan enough to be smart and wait a couple days. He stayed away for a week, just to ensure that Jongin wouldn't be throwing up anymore and the dragons wouldn't threaten to burn his body to ash so quickly. In that time, he could gather supplies to show his apology: rabbits, squirrels, wild boar, deer, beef, and pork. He prepared all the meat and packed it into a bigger satchel he could swing onto his back because this time he wasn't going to take his horse. He'd even gone to the market and spent his money on medicines and antidotes that he thought Minseok may be running low on or anything that may be hard for him to get his hands on.

He had to make it up to them somehow, and his stubborn side wouldn't relent until he'd thought of all he could. As soon as Sehun had come back from his travels, Chanyeol had even requested council with him just to get a second opinion on medicines he could bring. Though he trusted Sehun, he knew it wouldn't be right to reveal the secret Minseok has been trying so hard to keep all this time.

Chanyeol wakes up early that morning a week later from the incident, nervous and a little nauseous. He only tends to feel this way when it's the day he sets out to save a princess or a prince and he knows there are horrible challenges to face, but he doesn't know why he feels it today. His stomach flips when he thinks about Minseok's soft, wary but reassuring smiles he'd given but it twists a little painfully when he sees haunting green and red eyes imprinted behind his eyelids every time he tries to shut his eyes and breathe.

He waits until the sun rises, lying in bed awake and petting the kitty that had wandered into his house at night. Luna has come to visit his house before, nimbly shimmying through an open window or sliding in between a closing door. Luna is not his cat, she prefers to strut around the village ownerless and use her pretty green eyes to get food from the market ladies and the children, but she tends to stick around Chanyeol's house because there's always food around (and she knows her way right into Chanyeol's pantry).

Luna purrs under his hand as she stretches out on his pillow, curling up around herself and napping the morning away like a princess. Chanyeol thinks that somehow she knows when these mornings come for him, when he feels like a stranger in his own home. And any other day she'd threaten to bite his fingers if he'd reach out to pet her behind the ears. But on these mornings, she curls up in his bed and lets him pet her.

It helps, he muses. It keeps all his thoughts at bay until the sun has risen for the village to wake up and head out into the fields. She leaves as soon as the roosters start to call out in the morning, searching for a better spot in the sun to continue napping.

When Chanyeol finally rolls out of bed and washes up, Luna has already slipped out of his house. He doesn't pay it too much mind as he knows the cat is probably wandering through the market stalls already. He eats what breakfast he can keep down- and it isn't much. He finishes half his eggs and nibbles on toast before his stomach churns a little dangerously and he doesn't risk trying to eat much more. By then, he can see the Jungs out on their farm herding the sheep and merchants pulling their carts up the distant hill to the market.

He grabs a spare satchel from underneath his bed and packs it with all the meat he's caught, cleaned, preserved, and packaged as nicely as he can manage. He fills the bag up with medicines and water for himself and finally gets a spur of courage to walk out the front door.

His horse waits beside his front door, hooves kicking in the dirt. Chanyeol smiles and dodges back into the house to grab the apple he hadn't eaten for breakfast. "Be good today, okay?" he says, holding the apple out to his horse. "I'll be back by nightfall."

The horse simply whinnies in his ear, as loud and as obnoxiously as possible. Chanyeol takes it as good luck and heads out the front door.

Trying to remember the way back to Minseok's home is more difficult after debating whether to forget or not in the past week. He starts from the Jung's farm and continues straight until he sees the mushroom bush. He takes a few turns as he recalls and tries to remember the trees he'd left marks on. He's glad he'd at least been stubborn about apologizing that he'd go as far as to strip a bit of bark from the trees the pixies lived in because now it's much easier to trace his steps back to midway between Chanyeol's home and Minseok's.

At the midway point he stops for a moment, debates with himself if this is even the right thing to do. But he swallows down half a canteen of water and continues on his way, still determined to repair the mess he'd made.

But soon he passes the last tree he'd marked and from thereon it is all guesswork. He turns left and right, hoping he isn't walking around in circles because the enchanted trees that someone must have bewitched make everything look the exact same no matter how many times he walks in an entirely new direction. The sun is high in the sky, bearing down a sweltering, sticky heat even in the forest, and it's then Chanyeol nearly gives up. He flops down on a log and bemoans that everything still looks the same and he may as well have walked himself right back to the Jung's farmland.

Except he still persists. He shoulders the weight of the satchel and carries on until the sight of Minseok's cabin breaks through the trees. He'd nearly missed it too, if not for the billowing cloud of smoke that cascades above the tree line catches his vision.

He heads in the direction of the smoke, breaking through the last of some low hanging tree branches until he's in the clearing surrounding Minseok's home. He tries to approach slowly in case the dragons get alerted and frightened. There's not a sound as he approaches, only the snapping of branches beneath the weight of his feet. He looks around warily, head poked out behind tree trunks, and there's not a dragon in sight.

He inhales, legs shaky as he steps into the clearing. The lights are on in the house but the clearing is silent. Not even a puff of smoke remains in the air to hint that anyone was here. Chanyeol stops and thinks and almost considers leaving, thinking that no one is home. He more bravely approaches the front door and takes the satchel off his back, leaving it against a post on the porch.

"Minseok?" he calls out, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet. He shifts from one foot to the other, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his trousers. No one answers. He steps up to the front porch and dares to look into the window. The table is set as though a few people had sat down to lunch, food still half eaten on their plates. But there's not a sound, not even a stir.

Chanyeol sighs, hopping off the porch. And in the span of a breath he feels a pressure connect with his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs as his back connects with the ground. He grips at his chest, struggling to push air through his tight lungs but the weight on his chest pressing on his diaphragm is making him feel like he's suffocating. His breathing is short, anything just to get air and wait for his mind to think clearly.

"Why show your face here again?"

Chanyeol recognizes the voice, but he can't pick out whose voice it is.

"We don't want you here!" he yells. "Until you came everything was fine, so fuck off."

Swallowing thickly, Chanyeol pulls himself together and opens his eyes to an icy blue gaze piercing through him. He shudders, feeling claws starting to dig into his arms. Luhan has him pinned down, eyes deadly and nearly ready to kill. Black smoke puffs out from his mouth and he snarls, two blue pointed, scaly ears popping out atop his head from the brown mop of his hair.

"I came to-"

Luhan grips Chanyeol's throat, fingers slowly pressing into the skin, threatening to break the barrier between life and death. "I don't care what you came to do because I hate you." His fingers tighten- choking, choking, choking. "I hate you. We had such a peaceful life in safety until you fucked it up for us. And now that you know about us, I can't let you threaten the lives of my brothers." Luhan's smile is sinister, chilling, and Chanyeol is sure that his life flashes before his eyes then.

But the weight is thrown off his chest and all Chanyeol can think about is breathing and getting away. He sits up as soon as his chest is light, watching as Luhan is thrown down and pinned with a foot on his chest by another man with bright green eyes like Jongdae's. However, his eyes glow kind, calming the panic rising like bile in Chanyeol's throat.

"I'm sorry," he apologizes, smile sheepish. "I'm Yixing. I don't believe we've met yet."

Chanyeol shuts his gaping mouth, hurriedly wiping the dirt off his hand and holding it out for Yixing. "Chanyeol," he murmurs, "but I guess you already knew that."

Yixing laughs, hoisting Chanyeol up with surprising strength given his lean body and boyish face. His laughter is light, almost like the twinkle of pixies. "It's not every day we get visitors out here."

"Lemme at him!! Don't hold me back!!! I'm going to rip his fucking head off! Yixing, let me go you fucker!"

Chanyeol cringes, trying to keep his gaze off of Luhan. The dragon is so furious smoke is starting to puff out of his ears and his mouth.

"Oh hush up, Luhan," Yixing says, pressing his foot a little harder on Luhan's chest. Luhan gasps, wiggling under Yixing's weight. "It was an accident- give the poor guy a break."

Thank the heavens someone finally believes Chanyeol.

Yixing leans down, face pressed close to Luhan's. His voice deepens, the happiness and kindness zaps from the gaze in his eyes and something almost evil flashes. Chanyeol would have imagined it if he hadn't heard Yixing speak in a whisper.

"If you wake Jongin up, Luhan, I'll personally end you myself."

Chanyeol squeaks, air zapped from his lungs in an instant. He doesn't feel as safe as he had just moments prior. But with that, the smoke stops puffing out of Luhan's ears and he finally goes limp under Yixing's weight.

"Right then," Yixing sighs, looking back at Chanyeol with an angelic smile. "Did you come back for something?"

Chanyeol feels his brain stall for a moment, like his mouth is moving but he can't hear anything he's saying. Yixing just smiles and watches him patiently for when his brain finally kicks into gear.

"I just came by to say sorry," he says. "And-"

It's then that the trees rustle. By habit, he turns around to check for the source, and just as sure as he's decided that the sound must have been a rabbit, the trees rustle again and part. Minseok is the first to step through the forest, laughter in the lines of his face and smile wide. His cheeks are flushed, bangs damp with sweat, but he looks so happy as Jongdae wraps an arm around his neck. There's another man that follows after them- the one Chanyeol recognizes as the man who carried Jongin ahead of him. His smile is gentle though his red eyes are still a little menacing. His black hair falls into his eyes as he smiles shyly.

Chanyeol's heart jumps up into his throat. Minseok catches his gaze, his smile still brilliant, and time seems to still for just a moment.

At least until he's lifted off the ground by a scaly green claw fisted into the collar of his tunic.

"Why did you come back," Jongdae seethes, bright green eyes flashing dangerously. Chanyeol wiggles in his grip, trying to get down but the strength Jongdae's gained by shifting his arm into his dragon form is enormous. Jongdae may as well toss him right back to the front steps of his home.

"Cool it, Jongdae," Yixing says, stepping away from Luhan and pressing a gentle hand to Jongdae's shoulder. Jongdae stills for a minute, looking at Yixing seriously, before his eyes soften and he tosses Chanyeol down none too gently.

The other man stands warily behind Minseok, fingers morphed into claws and gripping Minseok's shoulders, ripping through the fabric. Silence falls for a moment and Chanyeol takes a deep breath.

"I came to say sorry," he says, keeping his eyes steadfast on Minseok. "I hope you could come to accept my apology."

Minseok nods, eyes dropping to his shoes scuffing against the ground. "I do," he says. "Forgive you, I mean." He looks up and smiles sincerely. Chanyeol's stomach flops and he bites down on his lips, hoping for no sudden throw-downs or punches by any of the dragons.

"Well I don't," Jongdae says, but that's all he says. He huffs indignantly and goes off to stand closer to Yixing, arms folded over his chest. Yixing pulls him in and kisses him, winding Jongdae's arms around him instead.

"Don't be like that," he murmurs. He nods in the direction Chanyeol had left his satchel. "He brought us beef."

Chanyeol glances over to the bag to find the medicine bottles already spread out on the porch and Luhan rummaging through the bag. "There must be a ton in here!" he exclaims, holding out the large flank of beef Chanyeol had packed.

Jongdae huffs but tries to hide his eagerness as he approaches the satchel. "Don't think this means I forgive you," he says, but he's by Luhan's side in an instant and rummaging through the meat.

At that, Yixing and Minseok laugh, following Jongdae and Luhan into the house. Chanyeol remains in his spot for a moment, until Minseok turns around and beckons him into the house.

Chanyeol inhales shakily, following Minseok inside. He's still nervous, he hasn't apologized to Jongin himself, but at least this is a start.

The first thing that comes to Chanyeol's mind as soon as he steps into the house is how warm it is, both in the figurative and literal sense (because five fire-breathing dragon bodies in a small cramped space immediately raises the temperature). The dining table is a cluster of mismatching chairs, the sink stacked high with pots and dishes. Nothing in the living room matches anything else but there are tons of drawings of memories tacked up on the wall like a collage. Chanyeol's kind of envious- there's a lot of home in such a small place.

Luhan dumps the satchel of meat on the table with a loud thud, rummaging through it and pulling out everything Chanyeol had brought. Jongdae's mouth is practically watering from where he stands in the living room doorway, restraint slipping through his fingers quickly. Beef, deer, rabbit, Jongdae's hands are antsy in his pockets. Yixing and Minseok are at the sink, Minseok pulling out a cutting board and a knife from drawers and Yixing washing dishes and putting them away. The man who had clung on to Minseok still sticks beside him, hands anxiously skimming his shoulders as if deciding whether he should grip them or not.

"Go pick the meat you like, Zitao," Minseok tells the red-eyed man, glancing over his shoulder. He smiles gently at the taller man, leaving a reassuring pat on his back. "Tell me what you want for dinner and then you can go to Jongin."

Zitao nods, shuffling over silently to Luhan, eyes warily glancing back and forth between Chanyeol and Jongin's room. He points out the smallest rabbit Chanyeol had caught and skinned, then he wanders through the living room and slips through a door and out of sight.

Minseok sets a few skillets on the stove, greases the pans and turns on the heat. Chanyeol awkwardly shuffles through the kitchen, trying to stay out of Jongdae's way but trying to get to Minseok. He feels a little awkward being here and still a little nervous.

"Is there something I can help with?" Chanyeol asks, looking over towards the stove. Minseok looks up from the skillets, pursing his lips in thought for a moment.

"You can come help me cook the meat if you want. There are lots of mouths to feed," Minseok hums. There's something still a bit cold about him, something different. He doesn't seem like the man who'd walked through the forest only moments before, smiling and laughing without a worry. Though he supposes Minseok has good reason to be wary of him.

Once the pan heats up, Chanyeol cooks half the beef and some of the pork, sighing pleasantly as the meat sizzles on the skillet. He can almost hear the ravenous hunger of Luhan's stomach, considering the dragon keeps wandering around the stove, peeking into all the skillets. Minseok cooks two rabbits and a bit more pork, working quietly as he turns the meat once it browns and talks with Yixing a little. Chanyeol even manages to gain the courage to jump in the conversation when he can. It's not often, but they don't seem to mind his intrusion.

"Is it almost done?" Luhan whines, flopping onto the couch in the living room before standing up and walking back to the table to flop down in his seat.

"It'll be done sooner if you set the table," Jongdae says from where he'd collapsed into an armchair, legs swung over the armrest.

Luhan frowns, throwing his leg out in a well aimed shot for Jongdae's head. He misses, but earns a death glare from Jongdae in return. "It's your turn anyway."

Jongdae groans, wiggling lifelessly on the armchair. "But Minseok pushed me so hard today. I can barely feel my legs."

"I'll, uh, take care of it," Chanyeol says, smiling to hide his nervousness from the kitchen doorway. Both Luhan and Jongdae look at him harshly, scarily murderous, but neither of them get up and Chanyeol takes it as permission enough to set up the table.

The meat is nearly done as soon as the table is set. Chanyeol is leaned back against the counter, eyes drifting off to Minseok more than he's sure is normal. He's only vaguely listening to Minseok’s and Yixing's conversation, trying to imagine what he does from here. This place is a secret- something Minseok has been trying to keep, and he doesn't know if he'll ever get the favor of the dragons back. But even if he doesn't fit here, in this home, there's something that feels nice about being here. Maybe it's just that there's more people always around, or maybe it's something else, but there's something comforting about just being around them.

He's caught in his own thoughts for a bit, trying to figure out where things go from here, when the room suddenly falls silent for a brief moment. All eyes fall on the opened bedroom door. It's like everyone had held their breath as Jongin maneuvers himself out of the room, Zitao at his side. One red, leathery wing is stretched out behind him eleven feet out. It's bandaged across the center, white wrapped around the length of his wing. He doesn't have a shirt on, revealing the bandages wrapped over his shoulder and across his abdomen where the arrow had hit. Chanyeol feels a pang of guilt as Jongin steps forward, grimacing as the tip of his wing knocks against a wall, and the room resumes in chatter. Jongin looks so terribly tired, eye bags heavy and bruised, his cheeks lost in color and a thin sheen of sweat still clung to his face.

Chanyeol's breath catches in his throat, heart thumping wildly, as Jongin's gaze meets his. As soon as he's registered the emotion on Jongin's face- a mix of rage, sadness, and lifelessness- he notices the puff of fire zooming straight for him. Before he can breathe, the fire is already caught in his hair and he can feel the heat through his scalp.

He's too shocked to even get a sound out of his mouth. His hand reaches up to pat out the fire, feeling the flames lick at the bottom of his hand. Minseok comes up beside him, leaning up on his toes to help pat out the tiny lingering flames. He smiles sympathetically, cheeks vaguely flushed.

Luhan moves off of the couch, taking to the stove and shutting off the burners. Jongin sits in his place, groaning as he strains his wound and his wing folds up a little. Zitao tries his best to help, holding out Jongin's wing and making sure it doesn't hit Jongdae until Jongin has settled and opens up his arms for him. Zitao's red eyes still flash with worry but Jongin's touch seems to ease him. He settles into Jongin's good side, hand wrapped around his waist and cheek pressed to his shoulder. Jongin brings Zitao closer to himself, eyes still fixated, now almost lifelessly, on Chanyeol.

"Dinner's done," Luhan calls out, putting out the meats together on a massive plate and setting it out on the table. With new life and revitalized, Jongdae hops up from the armchair and rushes into the kitchen, taking his seat first and grabbing the knife before anyone one else has even pulled out their chair. Luhan's in his chair and bickering with Jongdae about taking the best cut of meat for himself.

"Kids," Yixing murmurs, smiling at Chanyeol before he reaches around Jongdae and takes the knife from him. He cuts out the two best cuts of beef and rabbit, much to the chagrin of Luhan and Jongdae, and sets them out on plates.

"Zitao, come get dinner," Yixing says, cutting up the rest of the meat to a whining, pouting Luhan.

However, Chanyeol gets an idea and a surge of courage. He steps up beside Yixing and motions for the plates. "Let me take it."

Yixing looks at him warily, glancing over at Minseok before he smiles and nods at the plates. "Give Jongin the bigger portion," he hums.

Chanyeol nods, heaving a sigh. The medicine bottles he'd packed are still displayed out on the counter and he grabs the bottle he'd marked with a red ribbon. It's an antidote that doubles as healing medicine and he makes sure to show it to Minseok before he offers it to Jongin.

Minseok smiles gently and gives his consent. Chanyeol takes a deep breath and steps into the living room.

Jongin still looks like he'd burn off all his clothes instantly.

"Food?" he offers, trying his best to keep his voice stronger than he feels.

Jongin nods subtly. Two pointy, red dragon ears pop out of his hair as soon as he gets a whiff of the meat. Zitao looks up at Jongin warmly, keeping his gaze focused. He doesn't really look at Chanyeol, even when Chanyeol holds a plate out for him. He keeps his eyes to the ground and takes the plate with a slight tremble in his hands. As soon as Jongin takes his plate, he intertwines his free hand with Zitao's squeezing gently.

"I have this for you, Jongin," he says, holding out the medicine bottle. Jongin looks at him weirdly, nose scrunching up as he sniffs it. He doesn't seem displeased. "It's an antidote. I brought it to say I'm sorry, and I hope you'll feel better."

Jongin takes a moment to think, biting down on his lower lip. He glances over at Zitao, nudging Zitao's cheek with his nose. It's quiet enough that Chanyeol just barely hears Jongin growl under his breath. The gesture brings a tiny smile out of Zitao, the corner of his lips upturning. Zitao nuzzles back, trying to be subtle with his affection. His claws that have come out let Chanyeol know he's still afraid.

Jongin finally holds his hand out and Chanyeol gleefully hands over the bottle, trying to maintain his outward excitement. As soon as Jongin has the bottle in his hands, he puffs smoke into Chanyeol's face, making him stumble back, and then pays him no mind. Zitao seems eager for all the attention Jongin gives him suddenly.

Chanyeol can finally breathe a sigh of relief, the anxiety that had pulled the thorny vines tight around his heart finally unwind.

He flops into his seat at the table, taking the free chair between Yixing and Minseok and shovels a good bit of rabbit into his mouth. Yixing is caught up in a deep argument between Luhan and Jongdae, trying to mediate it before food begins to fly and punches are thrown. He looks exasperated, but the wide smile on his face tells otherwise.

Chanyeol glances over at Minseok, gazes meeting briefly before he turns away, suddenly shy. Minseok had been looking at him, smiling cutely at him, before he'd looked away just as embarrassed. He takes a huge bite of rabbit, trying to engage in Luhan’s and Jongdae's argument, being more careful to sneak glances at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol's heart is thumping wildly though because he can see Minseok glancing at him, even when he thinks he's being sneaky about it. His hands are getting sweaty and his heart feels like it may burst, but the feeling is not unwelcome. He looks around the house, at Jongin and Zitao caught up in their own silent conversation between silent smiles and shining eyes. Luhan's voice excited, he's hyper, and Jongdae's laugh is thunderous amongst the table. Yixing and Minseok are more silent spectators, but the smiles on their faces are genuine.

He feels a little jealous for a moment. Maybe something like this is what he's been searching for all along because it feels like coming home. It feels more like a home than his house in the village does. But his thoughts are still plagued by what happens after this.

He can only hope that he won't be chased away.

 

Once everyone has eaten and Jongdae and Luhan have flopped into bed in a food coma, Yixing has slipped into the shower, and Jongin and Zitao had fallen asleep curled into each other on the couch, Chanyeol helps Minseok wash the dishes. They work silently together, Minseok in his own thoughts and Chanyeol trying to think about what to say next. They work in comfortable silence, though Chanyeol is still dreading the moment when all the dishes are cleaned and put away.

"So what do you do in the village?" Minseok asks, passing a dish in his hand over. His hand briefly grazes Chanyeol's, sparks flying between their fingers.

"Not much," Chanyeol hums, wiping down the back of the dish. "I save princes and princesses sometimes, fix things, and play with the village kids if they want me to."

Minseok just smiles, picking up another dish to wash. He doesn't pursue the topic any further.

"How about you?" Chanyeol asks. "What keeps you out here?"

Minseok sighs softly, glancing back over his shoulder at Jongin and Zitao cuddled asleep in the living room. "I'm a dragon trainer," he says. "I train them and they stick with me out in the forest."

Their conversation is stilted, far more awkward than Chanyeol is used to experiencing. Even his conversations with princes he's kissed awake are less awkward than this. 

He just doesn't want to mess up again. And he can't really think of much to say with his heart beating in his ears so he focuses on holding the plates and not letting them crash at his feet.

Minseok hands him the last dish, breathing out a sigh and shutting off the sink. "What's the village like?"

Chanyeol hums for a moment, wiping the dish dry. "It's nice, I guess. Everyone is nice and our only problem is the witch, but there's not much to do. The kids make things entertaining at least."

Minseok nods, glancing down at his feet. "Do you like it then?"

Chanyeol's hands still for a moment, gently setting down the dish before he really does drop it. "Yeah, sure," he murmurs, but it tastes sour as it comes out his mouth. His eyes are drawn again to Jongin and Zitao. Now that it's fairly silent, save for the snores emanating from the bedroom, Chanyeol can practically hear Zitao purring in his sleep. He's curled closely around Jongin, arm thrown over his waist and head pressed gently to Jongin's shoulder. Jongin has an arm weaved behind Zitao's waist and his cheek is pressed to Zitao's head. His dragon ears twitch above his head, his lips pursed and smoke occasionally puffing from his lips if he snores. Chanyeol's chest suddenly feels even heavier.

"I think I should probably go," he whispers, forcing a smile out. "It'll be dark soon and I'd promised some little girls I'd finish building their doll house."

Minseok nods slowly, leading Chanyeol over to the door. It swings open with a creak and Chanyeol finally steps outside where the cool, sticky summer night air clings to his skin. The fireflies are out, twinkling lights blinking all around them. Chanyeol breathes out, trying to calm his heart down.

"It was nice what you did today," Minseok says, leaned against the doorframe. "I don't know anyone who would be stupid enough to come back to 5 dragons and a trainer who could have easily burnt them to a crisp. Or, you know, taken your body apart in my case."

Chanyeol laughs nervously, running trembling fingers through his hair. "Yeah, well, you ask anyone in the village and they'll tell you I'm a headstrong idiot."

It brings a chuckle out of Minseok, lips twisting up in a small smile. It feels genuine this time. "Well, I'm sure they appreciated it- the dragons, I mean. I did."

Chanyeol hums, nodding. "Good. I was hoping for that."

It falls silent again between them, the air tense with anticipation and expectation for someone to say anything. Chanyeol kicks through the dirt, shoving his hands into his pocket. His sword and bow and arrows briefly flash through his mind. Someday he should go back and get them.

"I guess I'll head out then," he finally says, looking up at Minseok. He can't read the dragon trainer's expression- whether he's happy he's leaving or if he ever wants to see him around again. At least Minseok isn't giving any signs that he doesn't not want to see him again.

"It was nice to see you come back, you know," is Minseok's reply. "Be safe on your way home. The witch is famous for catching handsome boys at night."

Chanyeol laughs dryly. "If the witch had wanted me by now she would've snatched me years ago."

Minseok laughs in turn, shivering as a cool night breeze blows past him. He smiles, then shuffles slightly back into the house. "Goodnight, Chanyeol."

Chanyeol presses his lips together and nods. "Night," he whispers, inhaling then turning around and heading out through the forest. The thought of asking Minseok if he could stay around flashes through his forgetful mind.

"Wait, Minseok--" he says, whipping around to find that the door is already shut and the lights in the kitchen have been shut off. Chanyeol's voice dies out in his throat, fist hovering above the door before it falls down limply at his side.

He takes a deep breath and decides to step away from the door, taking slow, heavy steps back to his home. His mind is plagued with too many thoughts in his head all at once, debating whether to come back again or not. He had done what he'd set out to do and apologized to everyone, but that leaves him right back at square one.

He could pretend like this never happened, or he could believe that Minseok and the dragons have forgiven him.

As soon as he comes to his front door, his mind is worn out. He tosses off all his clothes to the floor and flops onto bed. As soon as his back hits the mattress and he gathers all the bedcovers around him, there's a small meow that emits from the foot of his bed. Chanyeol sits up and pulls away all the covers to find a disgruntled Luna, hackles raised and looking very upset. Chanyeol tries to readjust the covers for himself but Luna hisses, prancing up to the pillows and pawing Chanyeol's shoulder and cheek until he's on his back and Luna can hop up on his chest. She twirls around in three circles before she comfortably lays down, paws burrowed into Chanyeol's chest.

"This isn't very comfortable for me, Luna," Chanyeol sighs, but the cat pays him no regard. She hisses and turns a little more so her back faces him.

"Okay, fine," he says, trying to get comfortable with a cat on his chest. It takes a few more hisses from Luna and a few scratches at his chest before he realizes that there is no comfortable position and instead just stays still and pets Luna as she pleases until he drifts off to sleep himself.

 

 

 

"Where are you going, uncle Chanyeol?"

Chanyeol finishes shoving a few more things into a satchel- a couple apples, a few cookies, medicines and bandages. He'd thought through everything for three days, thought through every consequence of returning. Yet in the end, he's still a headstrong idiot and decided to do what feels right. 

He extricates himself from the mess of his closet and turns to his audience of eight eager faces. "Somewhere- not that it concerns any of you."

Soojung huffs dramatically from where she's perched on the countertop between Jinri and Sooyeon, cookie only centimeters from her face and mouth littered with crumbs. "Come on, you're not that cool to have places to be."

Chanyeol blanches for a moment, tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. "Well maybe now I am cool."

Soojung, Sooyeon, and Jinri groan at the same time, rolling their eyes. "The day you become cool is the day I become princess of all the jellyfish," Jinri helpfully adds between bites of her cookie.

"I can help you with that quest if you want," Kyungsoo says, stepping through the door at that moment. All the children gasp simultaneously. "Though I have to say that jellyfish are the least interesting of animals. They don't think much."

"Kind of like Jinri," Minho snickers, leaning back against the counter. Chanyeol's about to chide him for that but Jinri takes care of it herself, knocking his head with her fist and blowing a raspberry in his face. All the other kids snicker behind their hands and Chanyeol can see the tears just beginning to well up in his eyes.

"Okay, children, be nice," Kyungsoo says, stepping into the house. Minyoung and Sunny are out of their seats in an instant and have their tiny hands wrapped around Kyungsoo's waist. "The only person you're allowed so make fun of is Chanyeol."

Chanyeol pouts, swinging his satchel over his shoulder. "Ha ha. You're absolutely hilarious."

"Aren't I though?" Kyungsoo smirks, continuing to gather the kids in his arms as they all come to hug him. "The other mermen and mermaids are in tears at my jokes- well, you know, they would be if they could truly cry underwater."

Now Chanyeol rolls his eyes, slowly helping escort all the kids from his home. They're now all more than eager to follow Kyungsoo off to play."Just please don't let them jump out of the trees, okay? Minho tried that before, thinking he could fly, and that didn't turn out well."

Kyungsoo smiles, running fingers through Minho's hair. "No worries. Stay out of trees and no eating dirt."

Chanyeol nods, shutting the door behind them. Sooyeon, Jinri, and Sunny have run off ahead, already heading straight for the play house.

It’s always a little strange to see Kyungsoo out of the water. While Kyungsoo much prefers his tail, making a trip on land is not too difficult physically. He carries a powder with him at all times, and though he’s explained how it works before, Chanyeol assumes that it’s just like pixie dust: a little sprinkle over his tail and it magically transforms into two legs and 10 wiggly toes.

"Don't worry, uncle Chanyeol," Yerim murmurs, tugging gently on Chanyeol's tunic. Her cookie is gone but there are crumbs and chocolate smudges all around her mouth. "Uncle Kyungsoo will take care of us."

"Yeah!" Soojung yells. "We're gonna go play 'Mermaid and the sea witch' with him!"

Chanyeol glances wide eyed at Kyungsoo, and yet Kyungsoo simply smiles vacantly. "They're smart children. They came up with that story all on their own."

"Sure," Chanyeol huffs. "Thanks for taking them out though. I know it's hard for you to leave the ocean."

Kyungsoo shrugs. "You owe me," is all he says before he waves Chanyeol goodbye. He picks up Yerim in his arms, wipes the crumbs from her mouth, and follows the rest of the children through the farmlands and over to the playhouse.

Chanyeol finally breathes a sigh of relief. Half the day has already passed by since he'd had to wait for Kyungsoo to come. He hadn't expected so many kids to want to play with him all at once, and they even knew he had nothing planned for the day. They're too smart for their own good, Chanyeol muses, finally stepping through the forest.

He follows the path back through the forest, the sun high above the trees. It's cool underneath the canopy of the trees, though the animals all seem to have scurried away into their homes. He spots a few pixies twinkling around him, trying to tease him. They sit in his hair, twinkling, leaving sparkly dust in their wake as they fly around his face. Swatting them away is no good, especially when they're trying to make Chanyeol smack himself. In the end, he decides to let them perch in his hair and takes them along for the ride.

Sweat is slowly beginning to drip down his forehead as he breaks through the last set of trees. He swings his satchel to one shoulder, wiping his forehead with his free sleeve. As soon as he approaches the last set of trees, the pixies fly out of his hair, probably sensing the dragons. Chanyeol smoothes down his hair where they sat, pushing back the knots and brushing out the sparkles.

He breaks through the last set of trees and into the clearing, the anxiety in his chest unwinding a little. His eyes fall upon everyone in the clearing- Luhan, Jongdae, Yixing, Zitao, Minseok, and even Jongin. And all of their eyes are on him.

"Hi," he says, running nervous fingers through his sweaty hair. The atmosphere is more tense than he expected, and he doesn't understand why. He slides the satchel off his shoulder. "I brought a few things--"

"Why did you come back?" Jongin growls. He's on the porch, wings outstretched behind him so that they nearly span the length of the house. Zitao had been sitting in the curve of his side but now moves away, sitting almost nervously.

Chanyeol stalls for a moment, a lump of words and confidence caught in his throat. Jongin looks much better, the tiredness behind his eyes gone and the wound in his abdomen has already healed up, but he looks angry. "I just figured--"

"--That you could continue putting us in danger? That you could disregard all the work we've put into being careful about staying in hiding just for your own pleasure?"

Zitao presses a gentle hand to Jongin's thigh, but it doesn't calm him down any. He brushes it off and stands, taking slow, heavy steps towards Chanyeol. His fists are curled up at his side, teeth grit tight.

"Stop that, Jongin," Yixing stays, stepping in front of Jongin's path. "If it wasn't for Chanyeol making the effort to bring the medicine, you would still be bedridden."

"And if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be in this position in the first place!" Jongin is yelling, chest heaving for air as fury begins to boil hot in his veins. His red eyes are dangerously dark.

Yixing grips Jongin's shoulder, voice dropping to a low murmur. "Don't be like this, Jongin. Minseok is--"

"Minseok has been protecting us for years, caring for us and taking care of us, and you want to let a complete stranger ruin it for us?!"

Yixing is effectively silenced at that. He's still holding Jongin back, but his grip loosens for only a moment and Jongin takes that chance to shove Yixing away.

Chanyeol is silent, throat locked up. His mind is in a daze, not believing that this is happening, but maybe he should have expected this.

"Jongin, stop," Jongdae says, green eyes flashing with worry. Jongin doesn't stop but instead puffs up his chest and blows fire at Jongdae.

He then turns to Chanyeol, chest puffed up, and only registers slowly what's about to happen. He ducks just in time, drops to the ground on his back and looks up to a giant fire cascading above me. His heart is beating heavy from the surprise. He's defenseless and though he's apologized, he still understands how Jongin must feel.

Jongin leans over him, hoisting him up by the fist wrung in the collar of his shirt. His dragon claws have come out as have his ears. He looks menacing, far more frightening than the beast Chanyeol had taken out of the sky.

"Leave," Jongin seethes, breath hot as it brushes over Chanyeol's cheek and down his neck. "Leave and don't come back. Forget about us."

Chanyeol swallows thickly, trying to look around for a glimmer of help. Minseok looks like he wants to speak up, but his tongue is caged between his teeth and he doesn't make a sound to help him.

"Dragons are secrets," Jongin continues. "We are not caged animals like the cows and sheep in the village. We live in fear of being hunted by dragon hunters and witches, and this forest has been the only sanctuary we've found in years." Jongin's eyes flash. "So leave, and don't come back. We can't afford to get up and leave another time."

Jongin unceremoniously drops Chanyeol on the ground, spitting fire in his face before stalking off back to the porch. Chanyeol is left in silence, in shock, trying to come to terms with what a simple mistake has done for them.

"If you don't want me here," Chanyeol sighs, "I'll go." He looks directly at Minseok, a sad smile crossing his own features. "I'll leave."

And so he does, leaving his satchel behind, looking back at solemn faces, and trying to erase the image of Minseok smiling imprinted on the back of his eyes.

He doesn't know why he cared so much anyway.

 

 

A slap resounds in the terse silence left behind. Jongin is cradling his cheek in shock as it slowly begins to swell up under his hand. Jaw slack and eyes wide, his gaze falls upon Zitao who's cradling his own trembling hand.

Zitao growls low in his chest, teeth bared but his eyes are sad. He's upset, and Jongin is at a complete loss for words. Zitao has never been upset with anyone, not even once. Jongin doesn't understand.

"You didn't need to go that far, Jongin," Jongdae says. "He was sincere."

Jongin is caught in a trance, dumbfounded and unable to take his eyes off of Zitao. He finally sighs, defeated, and shuffles back over to the deck with his head between his hands. Zitao hasn't moved, hands still shaking and too scared to approach Jongin. He whimpers in the back of his throat, worried, and Luhan comes up to Zitao and hugs him. Zitao breathes out heavily, resting his head on Luhan's shoulder and trying so hard to collect himself.

They're so young for dragons, Luhan muses, raising his hand to Zitao's head and carding gently through his hair.

Jongdae moves over to sit next to Jongin and Luhan stays next to Zitao, comforting him until he calms down, but Yixing has his eyes set on Minseok. He takes the trainer by the hand and pulls him through the forest, away from the house and farther away so they won't be heard.

"Where are we going?" Minseok asks, confused.

But Yixing doesn't reply, he keeps pushing through the forest until they're far enough that curious ears won't pry on their conversation.

"I want you to be honest with me," Yixing says, bringing them to a stop suddenly. Minseok looks on confused, hands wringing nervously at his sides. "Don't think about us," Yixing continues. "Just think about what you want. The rest of us, even Jongin, will always be on your side no matter what."

Minseok swallows thickly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I don't understand what you mean."

Yixing sighs and presses a gentle hand to Minseok's shoulder. He smiles and finally says, "Do you like Chanyeol?"

Minseok freezes up, hands stilled. He breathes out shakily. "I don't-- I don't think--"

But Yixing's gaze is serious and Minseok stumbles over his words. His voice locks up and his thoughts all jumble together.

"You have to be honest with yourself. Do you want Chanyeol to stay? Do you like him?"

Minseok bites down on his lip because for once, he feels a little lost. He's never felt so helpless, not when he had to raise and train five dragons and survive out in the enchanted forest on his own. Then again, he hasn't even been near another man in years, especially not one like Chanyeol.

"If you like him," Yixing says, gripping Minseok's hand, "we all will support you. We're stronger now than we used to be and now we can protect you no matter what happens afterwards. Jongin and Zitao, they'll come to understand and trust Chanyeol too. You've done so much and this is the least we could do for you."

Then Yixing sighs weakly. "If you don't like Chanyeol, then say it. Don't leave the rest of us on the edge of trusting him and being scared of him. If you believe he's bad, we'll trust your judgement. But if you like him, then now is the time to say it. Don't think about us for once and just think about what you want."

Minseok exhales, not even sure what to think at this point. His dragons mean so much to him. Years ago, when he'd been outcasted from his kingdom since they were afraid of the curses the witch would bring upon them, Yixing and Luhan had been the ones to take them in. Then they'd gone out and found Jongdae, Jongin, and Zitao, and now they'd become something of a family. And while Minseok doesn't ever want it to change, there's something different about the way Chanyeol had made him feel. Upon first sight, his heart had threatened to burst right out of his chest and his mind screamed that this was something he shouldn't let go.

Even if this doesn't end well, Minseok looks up at Yixing with confidence. He breathes out his nerves and his eyes alight with something bright, something Yixing's never seen before.

Yixing smiles, patting Minseok's shoulder before he leads him back to their home. He'd sensed the way Minseok had felt about Chanyeol, he knew Chanyeol was the one who would help him when trouble would inevitably descend upon them. However, he didn't expect Minseok to be so honest with himself, at least not on the first try of falling in love.

 

 

 

A few days pass by before Chanyeol gets an unexpected knock on the door. He'd been lounging around in the biggest clothes he could find, hair unruly. He'd spent the past two days moping, confused, and had finally decided that today he'd do something- at least go out and play with some of the kids because they usually cheer him up no matter what's upsetting him.

He opens the door, completely expecting a three foot tall child to immediately clamp to his knees and plead him with big eyes to come out and play, only to find the exact source of the confusion he's been in for the past two days.

"Hi," Minseok says, bouncing on his heels.

Chanyeol's jaw drops, but no words come out.

Minseok looks curiously into his home, glancing nervously around him outside and behind him. "Can I, uh, come in?"

"Right, yes, come in," Chanyeol nods, continues nodding and is suddenly so surprised and more confused that his head might just knock off his neck. He tries to run quick hands through his hair to fix up the knots and smooth down what has become a bird's nest.

Minseok steps through the front door, shyly skirting along the walls. He looks around, peeking around the kitchen doorway and into the living room. "Nice place," he muses. "It seems a bit quiet though. Not what I expected from you."

Chanyeol smiles sheepishly. "Well a couple kids from the village essentially live at my house and so does--"

A soft meow resounds throughout the kitchen. Luna saunters into the kitchen, winding herself between Minseok's legs, purring against him, before hopping up on the counter beside him.

"And there's the princess, Luna," Chanyeol sighs. Minseok seems to be completely enamored with her though, petting her between the ears and quickly finding the spot that makes her completely pliant and nice.

"She's adorable," Minseok sighs. Luna simply meows from under his hand and curls into his touch more than Chanyeol's ever seen before.

"You can keep her. She isn't mine and all she does sleep on my face and uses me as a scratching post."

Luna hisses, baring her teeth and claws and Chanyeol grips the counter, fearing Luna may actually lunge for him. Minseok just laughs behind his hand, eyes twinkling with mirth.

Chanyeol makes the mistake of looking into Minseok's eyes and his chest suddenly hurts again. He pastes a smile over the heartache like a bandaid and pretends like he hasn't been depressed for the past two days.

"How did you find--"

"I wanted to ask you--"

Both of them fall silent, lips pursed tight. Chanyeol smiles and gains the courage to ask first.

"How did you find my home?"

Minseok leans back against the counter, elbows propped up to give Luna room to wander around him. She finds the best place to settle underneath the crook of his arm. "I had Yixing track down your scent. And I wanted to ask you something."

Chanyeol nods, palms suddenly sweaty and clammy. He wipes his palms down his pants, trying to hide his nervousness. Minseok, oddly enough, looks about as nervous as he feels.

"Jongin... he really wanted to apologize for the other day." Minseok's gaze drops down to his feet, aimlessly scuffing the ground. He shoves his hands deep into his pockets, and as if Luna senses his nerves, she meows and cuddles against his shoulder. "And I really don't want to chase you away. I..."

Minseok's voice catches, and Chanyeol doesn't know how to make Minseok feel more comfortable for whatever he's about to say. His own heart is about to break through his ribcage.

Minseok takes in a deep breath, eyes skirting nervously. "I want you to come back? I don't know what you’ve done to me but I liked seeing you. I liked that you're a bit of an idiot for pushing what may not work out anyway. Also for treating my dragons well even at the face of death. I don't want it to be ruined before we even have a shot."

Chanyeol isn't sure what to think- he's not thinking. Minseok takes his clammy hands from his pockets and holds them and Chanyeol's not even sure he's breathing.

"I really want to try this, Chanyeol," Minseok whispers sincerely. "I really do.” 

Chanyeol's tongue feels swollen in his mouth, like it's blocking his throat from air.

Minseok suddenly leans up on his toes, lips pursed like he’s about to kiss him. Chanyeol holds his breath and closes his eyes, waiting for the kiss. But Minseok looks away shyly, letting go of Chanyeol’s hand and backing away, fussing around with Luna to hide his flushed cheeks.

Chanyeol isn't even sure his heart is beating because truthfully, this is the first time someone's tried to kiss him first. His fingers press to his own lips, where Minseok’s pink lips would have been, everything within him fit to burst.

It brings a small chuckle out of Minseok. He shyly shuffles over to the door, hands fidgeting behind his back. "I... so... yeah... just come over whenever. I'll teach you how to fly or something."

Chanyeol's throat feels suddenly dry. "I'll do that. Tomorrow. I'll come."

"Great," Minseok sighs. He opens the door for himself and steps into the bright summer sun. His cheeks are flushed pink like his lips. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow. Yes," Chanyeol stutters. He watches as Minseok leaves, waving behind him before he disappears into the woods. Chanyeol watches, dumbfounded, until an irritated meow snaps him out of his daze.

"Shush, Luna, something good is happening for me," he chides, but the cat simply hisses in his face, hops off the counter, and saunters off deeper into his home- most likely to piss on something he truly values. He groans and instead wanders into his bedroom, flops face down, and yells into his pillow until he chokes on the dryness of his throat.


	3. A Fairy Tale Come True

Chanyeol breaks through the trees and into the clearing of Minseok's home. Luhan and Jongdae are out on the porch, play-fighting by spitting fire in each other's faces, and they don't take notice of him until Chanyeol is standing close to them, but still a safe distance away.

"You're back," is all Luhan says before puffing a small cloud of fire at Jongdae. It catches in the green dragon's hair and singes the ends before the flames burn out. Jongdae, completely unthrilled, returns the favor.

"Is Minseok around?" Chanyeol asks, shouldering his satchel. It feels heavy after trekking through the woods, and Chanyeol has already broken out into a sweat.

"He's inside," Jongdae replies, focus caught on his hair. He runs his fingers through the ends, eyes crossing attempting to survey the damage. "He should be out in a second though."

Chanyeol nods and waits patiently, watching as Luhan and Jongdae continue to bicker and compete meaninglessly until Minseok steps out of the house with his arms full of a massive saddle and Zitao clinging on to his shirt.

"Oh! Chanyeol, you're here," he says, a flush starting to creep up his neck. He shifts the saddle awkwardly in his arms, trying to keep all the random strings and belts off the ground. "We were just about to head out to train a little. Do you want to join us?"

"Yes!" he blurts out before he catches the glare Jongdae shoots him. "I mean, yes, if you don't mind."

Minseok laughs, face pretty much hidden behind the saddle. Chanyeol still tries to lean over and catch any sight of Minseok's gorgeous smile before it disappears.

"Okay, just follow me. It's not too far out," Minseok says, taking the lead in front of the group. Chanyeol tries to fall in line next to him but Zitao and Jongdae have taken each of Minseok's arms and Luhan is standing just behind Minseok. So Chanyeol takes the end of the line and follows behind everyone.

They head in a different direction, following a worn path deeper into the woods. The forest becomes darker the farther they travel, the branches overhead block out the sunlight and there are no pixie homes within sight. The further they push through the forest, the closer Chanyeol sticks to Luhan. Trees morph into ferocious faces and the eyes of animals light up in the darkness.

"Are we almost there?" Chanyeol murmurs, clutching on to Luhan's shoulders as something crawls across his foot and he steps on something that doesn't feel like the ground. His heart stops beating for a moment too long.

Minseok turns around. "Scared?" he calls back. All of the dragons turn to look at him, sinister smiles gleaming in the darkness.

"N-No, not at all. I've been through lots of scarier parts of the forest."

Minseok hums. "Good," he says. "It only gets scarier from here."

Chanyeol swallows thickly. He isn't scared. Not at all. Though as soon as they are close to the end, Chanyeol can even see the light out of the forest, Jongdae grabs his shoulders from behind and growls in his ear. At least he manages to hold in the scream he's about to let out, but Jongdae snickers as soon as he freezes up.

"Baby," Jongdae murmurs before catching up to Minseok. Chanyeol can hear Luhan snicker in front of him. His heart drops because any credibility he had, or thought he had, is now gone instantly.

They break through the forest not long after. Chanyeol is blinded by the light but thankful. They enter the largest field Chanyeol's ever seen, expansive over hills and hills and surrounded by the trees. The grass is tall, up to Chanyeol's knees, and they sway with the wind that rustles through the trees.

"Ah, finally," Luhan sighs, eyes shut as he breathes in deeply. His dragon ears pop out of the top of his head. Chanyeol makes sure to take a few steps back before Luhan's whole body shivers and two, icy blue dragon wings spring out from his back. They reach out eleven feet on either side and glow iridescent as the sunlight shines through them. Jongdae follows suit, morphing enough so that his wings pop out and glimmer in the afternoon sunlight.

"Head up without me," Minseok calls out from far away. He's on his knees fidgeting away with the saddle with Zitao behind him who has only morphed as far as his ears.

Chanyeol meanders towards Minseok, keeping watch on Luhan and Jongdae. The two dragons walk out further into the field, out until there's tons of space around them and far from the trees so there's enough room for their wings, and there they begin their transformation into dragons. Chanyeol watches, mystified, as Luhan's human legs morph into the hind legs of an blue dragon and Jongdae's spine cracks and extends until it's longer than Chanyeol's own home. They grow, human features disappearing and replaced with the massive features of their dragons. As dragons, their scales glimmer in the light, reflecting brightly almost like stars. Jongdae's scales are the same emerald green of his eyes, his wings shine like the color of the summer trees and he's now the height of trees. Luhan's scales are an iridescent blue, sparkling like the ocean waters.

Chanyeol can't help the gasp that leaves his mouth as Luhan takes off into the sky. Powerful wings start beating, the trees swaying violently as Luhan gains altitude and pushes up straight through the clouds. Jongdae follows, almost knocking Chanyeol back with the strength of the wind. He pushes up through the clouds and disappears, no sight of his wings behind him.

"This is amazing," Chanyeol murmurs, jaw slack in awe. Minseok looks up at him, wiping his brow from the sweat after having finally finished fiddling with the saddle.

"I know," Minseok replies, a gentle smile on his face. He looks up into the sky, seeing Jongdae and Luhan circling above him, and his smile only gets wider.

Zitao slips away next, heading out into the field on his own without a word. He transforms into his dragon quickly, scales red like the hottest fire and the darkest ruby jewel. He beats his massive wings and takes off into the sky. His flight is a little shaky going up, but once he passes the clouds, his flight steadies out.

"Zitao is the youngest," Minseok says. He plops down in the meadow and pats the grass beside him. Chanyeol follows along and lies back in the grass, staring up at the clouds in the sky. He's hypersensitive to the hand Minseok has so close to his. "He's still learning how to take off, land, and ride with a rider."

Chanyeol watches as red, blue, and green specks dip and pop through the clouds. "He's really quite cute," he muses.

"He was the first one to stick up for you." Minseok lies back in the grass, folding his arms behind his head. He turns to look at Chanyeol. "Zitao is special to us. If he hadn't stuck up for you after you'd left, none of us would have come to trust you."

Minseok sighs, removing one hand from behind his head and picking aimlessly at the blades of grass close to Chanyeol's hand. "Zitao knows when people are kind. He has a hard time trusting anyone who isn't, anyone who could hurt him. He knows you weren't what you came off as initially."

Chanyeol turns to look at Minseok, their gazes meeting. "And what did I come off as initially?"

Minseok purses his pink, plump lips and Chanyeol imagines that kissing them would feel like a dream right now. "To the dragons," Minseok hums, "they figured you were a pretentious dragon hunter who would do anything and fake everything just to get their scales and their wings."

"And you?" Chanyeol asks. "Did you think the same?"

Minseok stays quiet for a moment, almost a moment too long that it worries Chanyeol. "Maybe," he says finally. "But at least I thought you were handsome."

Chanyeol sputters none too handsomely. His face begins to burn hot as soon as Minseok's laugh rings in his ears. What's he supposed to follow that up with? _Hey I think you're really hot too_ , or _I must be more handsome now that my shoulder is in place and my face is cleaned up_?

All he manages is an exasperated huff and an even deeper flush to his face.

They sit comfortably together until Zitao lands soon after, tilting too far forward and morphing back into a human too soon that he tumbles into the ground, back skidding across the grass until he lands in a patch of flowers. Minseok is up in an instant, laughing as he pulls Zitao off the ground and combs through the dirt in his hair. Zitao growls and puffs out smoke until Minseok bops his head and continues cleaning his hair from the dirt.

Then Minseok fetches the saddle and secures it in place once Zitao has transformed again. Chanyeol watches from his spot, noting which belts go where and how Minseok suits up on Zitao's back. Minseok works fast, like this is second nature to him, and soon he's up in the sky upon Zitao's back, dotting in and out of the clouds with the blue and green specks in the sky.

Chanyeol simply watches from the ground as fire bursts through the sky, almost like a light show of fireworks through the clouds. He stays and watches until the sun is nearly set, fascinated, until all the dragons land and turn back into their human forms, drenched in sweat but sporting the biggest smiles.

"Luhan, you could still make your turns cleaner," Minseok says, helping extricate Zitao from the massive saddle. Jongdae immediately finds this as a teasing point and blows smoke in Luhan's face.

"You're not in the clear either, Jongdae." And at that, Jongdae groans, slouches, and trudges the way back towards where Chanyeol is still sitting. Luhan then has reason to spit fire in Jongdae's face and dive headfirst into the forest trees. Zitao gathers the saddle in his arms and runs after them. He- quite strangely, in Chanyeol's opinion- wraps a free arm around Minseok's shoulder and nuzzles into the crook of Minseok's neck. He then takes off after Jongdae and Luhan right after.

The sun is just beginning to set behind the hillsides. Minseok takes slow steps towards Chanyeol, hands shoved in his pockets. The evening wind is cool but still quite strong, ruffling Minseok's hair over his shining eyes as he approach. Chanyeol relishes in the pleasant flip of his stomach at that.

"Shall we head back?" Minseok asks, holding out his hand. Chanyeol smiles shyly and nods, taking Minseok's hand, the trainer hoisting him up and off the ground. Except when Chanyeol is standing his full height, Minseok still hasn't let his hand go. Instead, the grip around his hand gets tighter and Minseok starts to lead him into the forest.

It feels like being a lovesick teenager. Chanyeol's is caught tight in Minseok's clammy grip, both their cheeks are flushed red hot and their eyes can't seem to meet from the embarrassment. But holding hands like this so simply isn't uncomfortable at all. It's really... nice, for lack of a more magical term from Chanyeol's brain short-circuiting from just glancing down at their interlocked fingers. With the sun setting behind them and the pixies twinkling like bells around them, this moment feels almost a little too magical, a little too good to be true.

But Minseok smiles up at him, pink lips sloping lazily and dimples just slightly pressing into his cheeks, and suddenly everything feels just right. Chanyeol shoves thoughts of what this means- what this makes them now- under the rug and relishes in the moment of holding Minseok's hand in his, feeling the callouses of his palm and tracing the lines of his fingerprints with his fingers.

He lives in the moment and, for once, doesn't think any more of it.

 

 

 

Two weeks later, Jongin's wing is fully healed and he breathes out enough fire to the heavens when he can finally fold his stiff wing back and morph freely between human and dragon form. Zitao seems the more immensely happy out of everyone, clutching to Jongin's arm tight and kissing the corner of his lips when he thinks no one is watching them. Chanyeol never imagined the day when he would see someone as stubborn and hard-headed as Jongin blush as red as the scales of his dragon form.

And whatever Chanyeol and Minseok are hasn't really changed in the past week. They've never moved past holding hands, though Chanyeol considers holding hands in front of the dragons and no one burning his face off as an important accomplishment in their relationship. Again, whatever their relationship actually is.

Though, through this time, Jongin still has yet to really open up to him. Chanyeol understands, really, that things like this will take time. But he's never really been patient at all with these things.

It's another sunny day with another long trek through the forest, back to the open field. This time, Yixing and Jongin tag along and Minseok doesn't bring a saddle this time. Rather, Chanyeol has a satchel of treats he'd brought from the village- especially the chocolate chip cookies that the dragons have come to adore him for bringing.

Today, Chanyeol takes Minseok's hand in his, intertwines their fingers, and doesn't feel so embarrassed to do so. Minseok smiles up at him brilliantly, and everything within him feels so warm and content.

When they make it to the field, Minseok pulls them out toward the center and plops down in a small patch of flowers. One by one, the others morph into their dragon forms. Luhan and Jongdae disappear as sapphire and emerald dots in the sky. Zitao stays close to Jongin as he morphs, gritting his teeth tight and growling when Jongin howls out in pain as the skin of his wounds pulls tight. But the transformation is still successful- Jongin's scales are a deeper red, a wine red, compared to Zitao's- and he successfully, though very shakily, takes up to the sky. He takes out a few trees on his way up, but he makes it past the clouds and Zitao follows up soon after him. Yixing is the last to fly up, the glimmering green of his tail disappearing into the clouds in moments.

"You didn't bring your saddle out today," Chanyeol muses. One hand is shoved deep into his satchel, rummaging for the apple he'd thrown in there this morning. Once he parts through the sea of cookies in his backpack, he finds an apple at the bottom and eagerly brings it up to his mouth, satisfied by the crunch. He sinks back into the flower bed, taking another bite of the apple.

Minseok fidgets almost a little uncomfortably, lying down beside Chanyeol. "I know," he murmurs. He inches ever so closer to Chanyeol, but he still hasn't pushed past Chanyeol's personal bubble space. "It was too much to carry over here."

"Which is a complete lie." Chanyeol can tell that much. Minseok had come down from the dragons so excited and happy that he's sure not a day goes by where Minseok doesn't suit up and fly high among his dragons. Chanyeol takes another bite from his apple, huffing out a sigh.

Minseok's lips pull down into a pout. "Obvious, huh?"

Chanyeol nods. _Crunch_ , and he takes another bite from the apple.

"Well, today I just didn't want to," he sighs, taking Chanyeol's free hand and twining their fingers together. He messes around nervously with Chanyeol's fingers- as he's come to find is Minseok's nervous habit.

"Right." Chanyeol is completely skeptical.

"Ugh, just--" and then Minseok reaches over his chest, grabs his other arm and forcefully pulls the apple towards him. Chanyeol watches, mesmerized, as Minseok wraps his lips around the apple and bites down over where he's already bitten.

It's like a kiss, his mind helpfully supplies. His chest tightens terribly.

As if enough fuel hadn't been added into a burning fire to take down three villages already, Minseok curls up against Chanyeol. He rests his head in the nook of Chanyeol's arm and sighs, once again turning back to nervously playing with Chanyeol's fingers.

"Just shut up and stay still," Minseok murmurs under his breath. Chanyeol can only imagine the flush burning up to Minseok's ears- at least if it's anything like he feels at the moment. Chanyeol feels so frozen that he can't even bring Minseok closer, but the dragon trainer seems satisfied with transforming him into a pillow- cuddling- and leaving them in silence.

The dragons continue dipping through the clouds and speeding through the sky, leaving streaks of their scales behind them. They bite at each other's tails and chase each other through the sky- like siblings playing together in the front yard. Jongdae and Luhan certainly pick on Zitao, or who Chanyeol assumes is either Zitao or Jongin, but Yixing is a brilliant mediator and draws the two troublemakers' attention elsewhere before Zitao or Jongin begin to lash out in a massive fire wave.

"How often do you ever just watch your dragons from the ground," Chanyeol muses, mostly to himself. Minseok shifts against him, messing around with his fingers again.

"Never," he says. "It's a completely different world from the sky. Once you get up there, you'll never want to touch the ground again."

Chanyeol mindlessly messes around with Minseok's fingers. A beat of silence passes, as has become normal and comfortable with their conversations sometimes, before Minseok flips around, props himself up on his elbows, and looks down at Chanyeol.

This, he thinks, is how Minseok could kiss him right now. The light shines in Minseok's eyes, twinkling in the warm brown shade. Flower petals are caught in his hair and his cheeks still carry the slightest blush. With the sunlight behind him, he looks almost angelic.

The silence, now, is heavy with something different swimming in the air between them. Chanyeol's kissed a lot of people, but he's never experienced a moment like this.

"You never really told me what you do in the village." Minseok aimlessly picks at the grass, plucking up blades and blowing them onto Chanyeol's chest. "I mean, you've seen almost everything I do out here but I still don't understand what you do."

Chanyeol purses his lips. "Okay, ask away. Whatever you're curious about, I'll answer."

Minseok presses his lips together and thinks for a moment. His jaw opens and shuts a few times before he finally comes up with a question. "How many princes and princesses have you saved?"

"Seven," Chanyeol answers easily. "Including one merman. Though he's quite a stick in the mud if you ask me."

Minseok's eyes open up incredulously. "You mean those exist?!" he exclaims.

Chanyeol smiles and nods. "The man had wanted so desperately to find true love, but he couldn't see what love was already holding his hand. The witch found his weakness and exploited it- she told him that if he wanted to search upon land for love, then he'd have to trade his gorgeous voice for legs. The prince blindly agreed, and I found him passed out along the beach." And there is where Chanyeol's breath grows short and his chest begins to ache. "I tried to help him find his true love, and in the end, I kissed him to break the curse the witch had put upon him because he understood that his childhood love back in the ocean was who he had been searching for all along."

"You mean, he didn't fall in love with you? After all you did for him?"

Chanyeol smiles sadly, vaguely feeling the whistle tucked into his pocket. "That's how my job works. I just want to help people."

Though wishing for love and ending up heartbroken is not how Chanyeol ever imagined happening, not since he saved his first prince that ran away as soon as he was free from the witch.

Minseok presses his lips into an even thinner line, the red of his lips fading out into the pale color of his skin. He ends up flopping over and curling back against Chanyeol, staying silent for longer than Chanyeol would really like. The tightness in his chest eases when Minseok begins to speak again.

"Would you like to fly up there with me? Someday at least.” Minseok is back to playing with his fingers. “I mean I'd have to train you for flight and then I'd have to match you up with a dragon close to your personality so that the flight is easier for you. Jongin might be a good match, believe it or not. Though Yixing is the most stable. And Luhan is really a good flier for speed- he's really more built for it." Minseok begins rambling on and Chanyeol really finds it quite adorable.

"I'd love to," Chanyeol replies, squeezing Minseok's hand. "Though maybe I'll finally discover I have a deathly fear of heights."

Minseok laughs, deciding to flip back over and curl back into Chanyeol's chest. Somehow, Chanyeol feels that they're closer than before and his heart is thumping wild in his chest that it may just explode like fireworks.

When the sun begins to set and the dragons finally begin landing and morphing back, Minseok pulls away and runs out to meet them. His smile is bright, as is everyone's, and they immediately pull him into their arms, whether to tell him of their exploits and accomplishments or to run knuckles through his hair or puff smoke in his face teasingly. To Chanyeol, it's like looking at a picture of a perfect family.

"Did you even see us up there!" Jongdae yells at him, tugging Chanyeol's head down and forcefully running knuckles over his head, just as he had done with Minseok.

"I bet not," and Luhan puffs smoke into his face so that it sticks in his hair. "He was too busy staring at Minseok to watch."

Chanyeol stops his foot indignantly. "I was not!" He swears everyone rolls their eyes at that. Even Jongin.

"You're worse than a lovesick princess," Yixing chides. And at that, Jongin bursts out in a surprising bought of laughter, clutching at his stomach and naturally curling back into Zitao. It's probably from the mental image of Chanyeol, with too long limbs and no coordination, being shoved into a frilly purple dress and attempting to act with poise as a princess would.

With that, Chanyeol can finally feel at ease that things are finally mending between Jongin and himself. When Jongin can finally open his eyes and wipe the tears gathering at the corners, he meets Chanyeol's gaze and actually smiles, his red eyes sweetened by the natural curve of his smile.

"Come on, quit teasing the poor guy," Minseok chimes in, taking Chanyeol's hand in his. "Let's go home."

Chanyeol loves the sound of that.

 

 

 

The days pass by peacefully, as Chanyeol always imagined what sleepy village days pass like for the people around him. It takes a lot of Jongin messing around with him (and many days of bringing chocolate chip cookies) before Jongin fully forgives him. He suspects that Zitao still has a hand in it, though he would never really know for sure. According to Minseok, Zitao has not spoken since he'd been found, and the scar across the back of his neck is telling of his past, but so long as the dragons understand him and he'd found a companion in Jongin, Minseok was pleased all the same.

Additionally, he's learned to balance his work in the village with visiting Minseok. He spends the morning fixing farm tools, fences, and chimney stoves, sometimes helping others on their farm or playing with the kids if they find him first. But by noon, he's with Minseok- whether that be within Minseok's home or out in the field, watching the dragon trainer take flight upon ruby wings and commanding orders above the clouds.

Today, though, he is spending a rare, quiet day in Minseok's home. After lunch, all the dragons had collapsed on the couches, limbs tangled and all sprawled across each other, caught in a state between awake and napping. For the moment, they've all fallen silent and when Chanyeol glances over his shoulder to look, all of them look as though they've been knocked unconscious.

"They're really cute- you know, when they're not threatening me about holding your hand and swearing they'll burn me to ashes if I don't remember to bring back more chocolate chip cookies."

Minseok chuckles, bumping hips with Chanyeol. He's elbow-deep in soapy water and keeps his eyes downcast upon the dishes still piled high in the sink.

"Funny," Minseok sighs, turning to look at his dragons. Jongin, who is curled up against Zitao but has his legs tossed over Yixing's body, lets out a snore as his head slips back awkwardly. "They can be cute when they want."

Chanyeol bumps Minseok's hips back, taking the wet dish from him and drying it off. "I like them joking around with me though, I have to say. I don't really find anyone like that in the village- at least not anyone above three feet tall."

Minseok smiles, swinging his hips and returning the hip bump. "Even if they don't ever and will not ever say it, they really like having you around. They're glad to have a new toy to play with and tease.”

Chanyeol scoffs, taking another dish and drying it off. "I'm more than just a toy. I'm also their personal servant when it comes to cookies."

Minseok presses his lips together for a moment, washing off the last dish. When he's processed his thoughts, and looks back to make sure the dragons are still asleep, he dries off his hands, looks up at Chanyeol, and says, "You know, they almost think of you like family now."

Chanyeol's hands still in the middle of drying the last plate off. When he meets gazes with Minseok, he can't see any fallacy with what he's said. There's not even a glimmer of doubt in his eyes.

The statement rings back in his mind and it makes Chanyeol feel insanely happy. To be considered family, to feel finally like there is a home for him, even in the most unconventional of circumstances, Chanyeol is happy. His heart flutters pleasantly in his chest as he glances back at all the dragons, and then back at Minseok who is still smiling brightly.

It's a home he'd never dreamed he'd find, but it's the most wonderful home all the same.

 

 

 

"Today, I'm taking you flying!"

Chanyeol's jaw drops. He'd only set foot on Minseok's porch before the door had swung open and Luhan, Jongdae, and Jongin had burst through the door and out into the clearing. Then Minseok stood in the doorway, somehow managing to carry two massive saddles over his shoulders, and proclaim that Chanyeol would actually get on a dragon's back and break through the cloud-line.

"You're... joking?" his brain hasn't quite caught up to what's happening. Zitao and Yixing easily slip between them in the midst of the conversation and quietly follow the others into the forest.

"No jokes," Minseok says. He shifts one of the saddles off his shoulders and Chanyeol reaches out to catch it. For one, the massive saddle is heavy, heavier than Chanyeol had expected with what ease Minseok had carried it with. He grunts under the weight, struggling to lift it up higher and carry it more easily.

"A few things you should know before you get up in the air," Minseok says, leading the way into the forest. Chanyeol stumbles clumsily behind, trying his best to carry the saddle. Though today, Minseok is wearing a sleeveless shirt and his arms are flexed to hold the saddle and wow, Minseok looks really nice.

Chanyeol snaps out of it as soon as he notices Minseok is staring at him. Right. They're going to fly on dragons.

"I'm hoping it's close to riding a horse."

Minseok laughs, "It's similar in the sense you could sit the same way if you like. But you'll find that when you're comfortable, you could ride any way you like."

Chanyeol feel sick just imagine doing anything remotely dangerous. Well, putting himself in more danger than necessary.

"Yixing is the calmest flier so he'll take you up," Minseok continues, pushing away a low hanging branch. "You won't have much navigating to do anyway because Yixing knows the area and he knows to follow me if needed. If you want him to slow down, just pat once on the flank and twice to stop and land."

Chanyeol breathes out shakily. He'd been imagining what this day would be like, and he didn't imagine being quite so afraid.

They break out into the large clearing in the center of the forest. The first thing Chanyeol does is drop the saddle. He can barely feel his arms- they don't even cooperate at this point. Out in the field, he can only spot a green and red dragon curled together. Minseok is already heading out for the dragons and all Chanyeol can do is hoist up the saddle again and follow behind him.

"Let's suit up. Yixing, Jongin," Minseok says. He approaches Yixing first, small against the dragon's face. He holds his palm out and Yixing pushes his emerald snout against it, and Minseok responds by running a gentle hand down the side of the dragon's face. Then he approaches Jongin, who puffs enough wind to knock Minseok back playfully. Minseok though looks incredibly happy by the tease and instead laughs as he throws his saddle over Jongin's back and starts doing up the belts.

Chanyeol tries his best to follow along, struggling firstly with even lifting the saddle up to Yixing's back. Then he gets confused with all the belts and where they go, and he really doesn't want to strangle Yixing by accident, though he's sure that's impossible.

"You've got this backwards." Minseok comes over and points out the belt Chanyeol's tying around the underside of Yixing's belly. "You've tied it up wrong- here, let me show you."

And Minseok takes Chanyeol's hands in his and guides his movements to tie the belts. Chanyeol swallows thickly, praying that Minseok doesn't feel how sweaty his hands are or doesn't look up any time soon to see the blush on his face.

Eventually Minseok ties up the ropes for him and secures him into the saddle. Minseok then gives Chanyeol a reassuring pat on the back (or as reassuring as it can be when Chanyeol is freaking the fuck out internally) before he hops up on Jongin's back. He doesn't even bother tying up the safety belt for himself.

"Alright," he yells, patting Jongin's ruby scales. "Take us up!"

Jongin's the first to take off, large wings beating heavy until he's off the ground and taking up for the sky. Chanyeol is so mesmerized to watch it so up close that Yixing's take off startles him, almost making him topple off the dragon's back before he grabs the saddle and grips it until his knuckles turn white. Yixing's emerald wings beat around him- one, two, three pumps until Chanyeol is off the ground and Yixing is taking up for the sky. As they pass the tree line, Chanyeol shuts his eyes tight and doesn't bother looking down. He can feel the wind swirl around them and he can hear the trees bending and swaying under the gush of the wind. His heart is beating hard in his chest and he can feel them going up, up, up, until Yixing's flight evens out and Chanyeol's hands begin to ache.

"Open your eyes, Chanyeol!" Minseok yells from far away.

Chanyeol inhales, exhales, and finally gains the courage to open his eyes. All he can see is the crisp blue around him. He shivers, deciding to look down. Below him are the white clouds he'd spent so many afternoons looking up at.

"This is," he tries to talk but there's a lump in his throat that's hard to talk around. He looks around to find Minseok floating off to his right, smiling so incredibly wide that Chanyeol's heart takes off and beats like dragon wings. Like this, Minseok looks amazing.

"You'd better hold on! Yixing's going to show you just what dragons are made of!"

Chanyeol snaps out of his momentary daze and grips onto the saddle once more. Yixing speeds through the clouds, right behind Minseok upon Jongin, and when he's picked up speed he folds his wings back and takes a straight nosedive for below the clouds. Chanyeol's breath catches until they break right through the clouds. He screws his eyes shut because Yixing is diving straight for the ground and they're plummeting so fast and they're going to crash for sure. Yixing then spreads out his wings and catches them a good few feet off the ground, catching the wind and riding the current up. Chanyeol grips onto the saddle, hoping he doesn't slide off it. Yixing makes a few spins going up until he reaches high above cloud level.

There, Jongdae, Luhan, and Zitao come into view, each beating their wings to hold themselves in place. Yixing turns to glance at Chanyeol for a moment, and then he blows out a massive wall of fire that surrounds them. In turn, Luhan, Jongdae, and Zitao do the same and then burst away through the sky. Yixing chases after them, speeding until he's close and then blows out fire to catch their tails.

This, Chanyeol feels, is exhilarating. Feeling the wind blow through his hair, soaring above the clouds, feeling the rush of adrenaline as Yixing dives down for the ground or when someone blows up fire around them. He's never smiled, laughed, so much more before and his cheeks are beginning to ache with it.

Why anyone would want to take this away, take down the most fantastic mystical beings Chanyeol's ever met, boggles his mind for a moment. The thought is absurd to him, and now he sees why Minseok protects his dragons so fiercely. He'd admired Minseok so much before, but now the esteem only rises higher.

After a few more tricks, one particularly dangerous one in which Yixing thought it would be a good idea to flip and make Chanyeol hang upside down for far too long, Chanyeol pats twice on Yixing's back to land. They are the last out of the sky, everyone else on the ground has already transformed back into humans and Minseok's saddle is already tossed off to the side.

Chanyeol is still running high on adrenaline as soon as Yixing's feet touch ground. He immediately slips free from the saddle and touches ground, legs still shaky so they fold under him as soon as he'd taken a few steps forward. He can hear Jongdae's laughter, but Chanyeol's got one person in mind. He gains strength in his legs again and runs straight for Minseok.

"That was amazing! That was more than I'd ever dreamed how flying with a dragon above the clouds would be like!" He grips Minseok's shoulders, shaking him a little roughly with all his excitement. "I can't believe I actually went above the clouds. I can't believe I even did that. I'm so happy I... I--"

He looks down at Minseok, down into the dragon trainer's shining eyes and his flushed, rounded cheeks. He looks at Minseok and suddenly feels so much warmth in his chest threatening explode. His throat closes and opens, locks up as his gaze drops down to Minseok's pink lips.

And pushed by adrenaline and so much love, he pulls Minseok flush against his body and kisses him, feeling the trainer's soft lips upon his and his heart beating against his chest and his belly swooping happily as Minseok leans into him. Minseok's hands naturally reach around his waist, fitting against his hips as he tilts his head back and gives Chanyeol more access, which he takes eagerly and kisses Minseok harder until he feels his lips beginning to swell and he's losing his breath.

He pulls back reluctantly, chest heaving for air. Half of his mind is blissfully happy with what he'd done, the other half mortified that he'd kissed Minseok and that he'd done so in front of five dragons. He brings a shaky hand up to his lips, hot to the touch of his fingers. Minseok looks just as incredulous as he feels, though he looks much hotter with his windswept hair and red, swollen lips.

Minseok doesn't say a word. Instead, he locks his hands behind Chanyeol's neck and pulls him down for another kiss. Chanyeol's heart thumps wildly and untamed as Minseok's tongue pushes through his plush lips and licks inside Chanyeol's mouth. Chanyeol moans at the feeling, relishing in the moment and praying that this isn't a dream. His hands fall limply to Minseok's waist, dipping into the back pocket of the trainer's trousers. Minseok slots himself against him, pushes them closer, and everything feels so right.

They kiss for so long that Chanyeol loses track, at least until he can feel heat grazing his toes and he pulls away for breath to see the ground beneath him charred. He looks up and Luhan has smoke puffing from his ears and Jongdae's green eyes are alight.

"You're so gross," Luhan groans, stomping off into the forest. Chanyeol looks around and belatedly realizes Jongin, Zitao, and the saddles have already disappeared around him. Yixing has an arm wrapped around Jongdae's waist and is leading him away, but Jongdae still fights out for the last word.

"If you so much as place another hand where it shouldn't, I'm going to burn your entire fucking face off!"

Minseok laughs, leaning up and Chanyeol can feel it against his lips. On his toes, Minseok leans up and pecks his lips. Suddenly everything feels hotter than fire and Chanyeol desperately wants more of Minseok again.

"I'm glad you enjoyed today," he says, taking Chanyeol's hand and intertwining their fingers. He swings their arms mindlessly as he walks. "Had I known you'd kiss me like that, I would have taken you up sooner."

Chanyeol laughs, voice hoarse in his throat. "If you want to make out more, all you have to do is ask."

Granted, Minseok doesn't ask the next time, or the time after that, or ever, and instead steals the breath away from Chanyeol's lungs with just a kiss.

For all the heartbreak Chanyeol has suffered, a love like this was worth all the pain.

 

 

 

"Minseok," Chanyeol whispers, gently shaking the trainer awake. It's a couple weeks later after his first flight. Now he was a more experienced flier and had learned to ride any dragon- even Jongin who'd tried to buck him off more than once. But after a day full of flying, he'd walked hand in hand with Minseok home, Minseok and Yixing had stayed in the kitchen to cook and Chanyeol had spent time with the dragons, mostly learning of some game they were quite fond of. The day had passed like many others before it, though Chanyeol had stayed later than before and the moon was already high in the sky. He figured he should head home at some point, especially if the villagers needed him in the morning.

Minseok shifts against his side, cuddling closer against him. Long eyelashes fan against his cheeks as he tries so desperately to open up his eyes to the source of the voice, but sleep has too far overtaken him and his eyes barely open a sliver before they clamp shut. Save for Yixing, everyone else had already fallen asleep- everyone sprawled out on top of each other and limbs in a crazy mess.

Chanyeol wants so much to stay, but he feels the tug in his chest telling him to go. "Minseok, I have to go home."

"No," Minseok mumbles, still completely asleep. Small hands clutched around Chanyeol's arm. "Stay."

"I can't. You know that." But oh how much Chanyeol wished Minseok could keep him there by his side and they could fall asleep together without any worries.

"Stay," Minseok pleads again, sleep still tugging on his consciousness. "Please."

Chanyeol's heart aches for these moments, when Minseok transforms from the powerful dragon trainer into the childlike version of himself. Minseok's grip on his arm tightens further and Chanyeol feels it tighten around his heart.

Yixing stands from his spot and steps over Luhan, who'd fallen asleep sprawled across the floor. He runs a gentle hand through Minseok's hair, a thumb brushing over his cheek. "Chanyeol will be back tomorrow. You know that."

But Minseok seems to have slipped back under again, no longer responsive to any voices and the grip around Chanyeol's forearm goes lax.

"Come on, I'll walk you out," Yixing sniffles, rubbing his arms over his bare shoulders with a sudden gust of the cool night breeze within the house.

Chanyeol does his best to extricate from Minseok's grip without waking the other. He removes his arm from Minseok's grip and his leg caught between Minseok's ankles. He then takes the couch pillow and ever so carefully helps Minseok to lie out across the couch and sleep more comfortably than on his shoulder. Minseok doesn't stir, doesn't awaken, but a soft smile crosses his features as he curls into the warmth left and the scent of Chanyeol left behind and falls back asleep.

Yixing leads him out the door, and Chanyeol doesn't think much more of it. They walk out silently until they reach the edge of the clearing. Chanyeol sighs, white puffing from his mouth in the sudden chillness of the night. He breaks into the forest by habit, but Yixing is still walking with him.

"You don't have to follow me home," he says. "I'll make it there fine. I'm sure everyone is going to need help getting ready for bed."

Yixing doesn't reply, but he still follows wherever Chanyeol goes. They stay this way for half of the journey, Chanyeol being unsure why Yixing is walking with him and why he hasn't replied yet. In truth, walking home with Yixing is more comforting than walking alone.

A few beats of crickets chirping passes before Yixing says anything. "Minseok is not what you think he is."

That brings Chanyeol to an effective stop, despite the eerie sway of the trees in the night. He breathes in shakily and turns around. Yixing's green eyes are harsh in the darkness.

"Minseok... he wasn't just a villager who the king expelled." Yixing wrings his hands nervously in the darkness, though his speech is still calm. "Luhan and I were his dragons long before Minseok had ever set foot into the forest. We were the first he trained, and we were his best friends when everyone shunned him for being cursed."

Chanyeol remains silent, not really sure on what is appropriate to even say.

Yixing sighs sadly. "Those days, when no one seemed to show an ounce of love for Minseok, were the hardest. I can only do so much as the guardian of a prince."

Chanyeol's mind stalls. Prince. Minseok was. Is.

"When Minseok had been cast into the forest, the queen had blessed him with one final protection spell from the witch. So long as Minseok had never found true love, the protection spell would last and the witch may never find him again. But--" Yixing's breath catches short.

"I broke the protection," Chanyeol mutters. Suddenly his chest hurts. "I've put everyone and everything you've all worked for in danger."

Yixing shakes his head, resting a reassuring hand on Chanyeol's shoulder. "Even if we'd moved to the edge of the earth and into the coldest, most barren lands, this time would have been inevitable. The witch always has her way at some point. How long we could stall it was the only point in question."

Chanyeol heaves a sigh. "Everyone else knows about this?"

Yixing nods.

"Then what can I do? I can't--" his throat closes up tight around him-- "I'll protect him. I won't let anything happen to him, nor any of you. I'm only human, but I've battled the witch before."

Yixing smiles, his hand finally dropping to his side. "That's all I needed to hear." He shoves his hands into his pockets, his green eyes piercing through the darkness. "The time will come," he says. "We are going to need your help when the day arrives."

Chanyeol nods, determination strung taught within him. "I swear I'll do everything I can. I've," and then he chokes on his words, "I've found my own true love. I won't let it slip through my fingers so easily." He clenches his fist by his sides until they ache. "I won't let the witch take this from me."

But oh how wrong he was.

 

 

 

The morning three days later, Chanyeol is jerked awake by Luna clawing at his face. Agitated. Anxious. She continues pacing around him, growling and hissing and pushing him to get ready faster and towards the door and out into the village where--

Everyone has collapsed in their fields. Chanyeol acts without thinking and runs first to the Jung's farm after spotting two small figures collapsed in the tall grass pastures. He hops over the fence and runs to them, lungs burning with exertion and his heart wringing tight with worry. He's down on his knees, taking Sooyeon in his arms and holding two fingers above her parted lips.

He feels it, air pushing past her lips. She's still breathing. He does the same to Soojung and finds her still breathing. Both of them are fast asleep, noted by Sooyeon snuggling against him as soon as she's comfortable in his arms.

Everyone. Everyone in the village, save for him, is asleep in their place.

As he tries to process this, he carries the two girls into their home and tucks them into bed. They shift ever so slightly in his arms as they try to cling on to him, tiny hands clutched around his neck.

"I promise, I'll fix this," he whispers, tucking the girls into bed and holding their small fingers in his palm in turn as they whine and fidget uncomfortably. "I'll be back when you wake up."

He prays he can fix this.

He takes in a deep breath and leaves the house, making a dead sprint for his own place. He swings the door open, grabbing nothing more than a few poisons and a small hunting knife and taking it out to his horse who is antsy in his reigns. It takes far too long to calm down his horse and ride out.

He bursts through the forest as fast as he can, snapping the reins of the horse after each turn. His heart is thumping, scared for what's happening. He certainly hadn't expected the witch's curse to be so dreadful- the witch had never once touched anyone other than the prince or princess she'd stolen away, the armies that had come to fight, and Chanyeol. But to put everyone into the deepest slumber, let them waste away in eternal rest when they had done nothing wrong, was terrible.

When he's close, he slows down the horse and hops off. He runs a little ways and bursts into the clearing. There, what registers in his mind is a sudden howl that rings deep, coldly in his chest. His fists are trembling by his side as he clenches them.

"Stay still! Zitao, you’re going to--" Yixing tries to hold the younger still, but Zitao's sudden movement brings the wrong press of his hand against a wound and the younger writhes in pain again. He tries to fight it, force Yixing's hands off his wounds in his panic, but Yixing is much stronger than him and holds him still. Jongin is desperately holding onto Zitao's hand, eyes flooded with worry despite his own wounds, the scratches that adorn his arms and face. Beside them, Luhan lies unconscious with his head propped up in Jongdae's lap, who is anxiously watching Zitao grow angrier, more afraid, and lashes out at them. 

No one had been spared from the fight. All of them are cut up and bruised, some more severely than others, but the distress is evident in their faces. They’d fought their best, but Minseok had been snatched from their fingers.

Chanyeol is too late.


	4. Awakening

After helping everyone move inside, Chanyeol does his best to help patch everyone up. Zitao is the most difficult and his injuries are the worst. He works silently alongside Yixing, trying his best to calm Zitao down until Yixing has the massive gash across his chest bandaged. After the sting of the ointment subsides, Zitao is significantly calmer, tired though, and Chanyeol hands a few bandages and ointment to Jongin with as reassuring a smile as he can manage. Yixing looks at him curiously, seconds away from protest until Chanyeol runs his thumb underneath Yixing's bangs and pulls away with blood on his fingertip.

"Let me take care of it before you really pass out," he says, pressing a gentle hand to Yixing's knee. His injuries are bad, but he refuses to be helped until everyone else has been taken care of. It's met by Jongdae's strict protest and a deep seated worry in his eyes. At that, Yixing stills and pushes the pail of water towards Chanyeol.

After gently washing out the gash on Yixing's forehead that pushes past his hairline, he patches it up as best as he can. Yixing has a few small, but deep gashes across his back, but they're taken care of quickly.

He breathes a sigh of relief. At least the worst of it is fixed.

Once Yixing has been bandaged up, Chanyeol moves on to Jongin while Yixing fixes up Jongdae and Luhan. Jongdae and Jongin are the least beat up of them all, and Chanyeol presumes it's because Yixing and Zitao took almost all the hits. Luhan's injuries are minor, and after his head is bandaged, Jongdae presses a cool cloth to his forehead. As Yixing recalls the fight, the witch had effortlessly removed Luhan from battle- tossed him like an old toy- and he'd suffered damages upon his head connecting with a tree. Jongdae's wounds are few, yet Chanyeol notices the subtle tremble of his hands and the way he stiffens upon Yixing's gentle touch.

But Chanyeol turns his focus to Jongin before him, who is still desperately holding on to Zitao. He remains quiet as Chanyeol works, focusing solely on Zitao- whose forehead is pressed to his shoulder to hide his shaky breath. It's intimate reassurance between them, silent but comforting just the same. Jongin doesn't speak out until he flinches violently when Chanyeol presses at a cut along the back of his neck.

Jongin's voice is soft, a scared whisper. "The witch forced Jongdae and I into a nightmare realm." He breathes in and tries to speak again. "I don't think you can fix that scar."

Chanyeol's hand hovers above Jongin's skin for a moment, but he still presses ointment to the scar and Jongin doesn't flinch this time.

"Before I came here, my past was so dark." There's a slight tremble to Jongin's voice. Chanyeol doesn't want him to continue, and he holds on to Jongin's shoulder to stop him, but Jongin doesn't stop. "I grew up on my own after being abandoned. I struggled to survive on my own, and when Minseok found me, I lashed out at him too."

Jongin heaves a sigh. "I hurt him so much and he hid all his pain from me. I still regret it to this day."

Chanyeol presses his lips together, placing a bandage over the scar.

"I saw everything I feared and everything I regretted. I saw the people of my past drag me back to the loneliness I've known all too well. I saw myself lose control and kill without restraint. I saw myself hurting Minseok and Zitao, and hurting you as well. And I saw that everyone, even Zitao, would turn their back on me and leave me again." The tears roll down Jongin's cheeks. He breathes in, and Zitao leans up against him, gently wrapping his arms around Jongin's neck and pulls him in close. His next words are muffled against Zitao's skin, "I can't be alone again."

It's heartbreaking to see the dragons so broken like this without their trainer. And Chanyeol feels their pain all the same. The scars on their bodies have cut deep into his heart and it's nothing any bandage could fix. Minseok was the glue that held them all together, and now that he's gone they're all beginning to fall apart.

Chanyeol finishes bandaging Jongin up in the mournful silence that had settled upon them heavily. He grabs all the medicine bottles and bandages and tidies up the kitchen. It's a moment he gratefully takes alone, takes the peace to steel himself before he faces the somber faces of the dragons again. He clenches his fists by his sides and grits his teeth, for this is only the beginning of the battle.

"Okay," Chanyeol starts upon entering the living room, "When Luhan comes to, we are going after the witch."

It takes a moment for the dragons to look up at him, the pain of losing Minseok after protecting him for so long still settled in their solemn features. But Chanyeol can see the glimmer in their eyes return.

"We are not just going to sit around here and wait for some magic to happen. Steel yourselves and prepare for the battle ahead, whatever it may be. As soon as Luhan is ready, no matter the time, we are heading out."

And with that, Chanyeol turns on his heels and heads outside to give the dragons their space. But as he cools off from his speech and he sits down on the porch, legs weak underneath him, he takes in the tremble of his hands and the shakiness of his heart. His words were spoken with more confidence than he'd felt; he's now more drained than he expected, but he'd brought some hope back to the dragons and maybe a little for himself.

He cradles his head in his hands and firstly calms himself down. Then, once Jongdae and Yixing step out of the house, he devises a plan with them that lasts through most of the night- until Yixing is drifting off against Jongdae's shoulder and Chanyeol finally relents and forces everyone to bed. Luhan is resting in Minseok's bed, Zitao and Jongin are in another room for themselves- already asleep because they needed it the most- and Yixing and Jongdae split the floor whilst Chanyeol takes the couch. Exhaustion settles in fast, despite Chanyeol's mind still trying to refine their plans, but soon the weariness takes over and he drifts into a dreamless sleep haunted by shadows of guilt.

 

 

 

Luhan comes to by morning and he takes immediate notice of Minseok's disappearance. As soon as he's filled in up until the previous night, the rage boils under his skin and he nearly punches through the wood of the wall. It takes a lot to calm him back down, to cool the blue fire in his eyes, but upon Yixing's touch and his stern words, Luhan is calm though antsy being cooped up in the house.

"Why didn't you all just leave me here and get him!" he yells, still in a state of disbelief and still coming to the realization. He folds his knees up into his chest and props up his chin, frown deep on his face. But after that, he doesn't push the topic any further upon the sheepish, sullen looks of his friends.

Once everyone is awake, Chanyeol pulls them all into the living room and sits them around the papers he'd laid out the notes of the plans they'd come up with. It brings back reassurance that they can save Minseok despite the doubt that still sits heavy in their hearts.

"Since Yixing can track Minseok's scent, we're going to track it down. My guess is that Minseok is being kept in a tower or castle on the farthest outskirts of the Enchanted Forest." Chanyeol points to his crudely drawn map. There are circles drawn through where Chanyeol had marked places the witch has held her treasure before, and it's evident that there is a large gap in the map where she's never been. "To the northeast is a mountain range, which I'm guessing is where she'll be because of the numerous beasts to protect her castle. No one would dare venture so far into the freezing temperatures because of the beast guarding her there. Plus," he glances at the intent faces of the dragons, "the barren ice lands of the north would be a big weakness to a pack of dragons."

Luhan's gaze is intent, bottom lip caught between his teeth. Jongin and Zitao glance between themselves, nudges and small growls shared between them. Chanyeol worries for Zitao the most, but when Jongin has finished, Zitao looks up at Chanyeol with the glint of mischief back in his eyes.

Finally, Chanyeol exhales, they're slowly coming back together.

Chanyeol continues, anxiously tapping his knee with his fingers. "Here's our plan. The witch is most likely going to guard the tower with an ice beast by her side." Chanyeol pulls out a crude drawing of a massive beast of ice with jagged limbs and a ferocious mouth. "This is the Ice Colossus. It should be easy to take out with fire as its entire form is composed of ice. However, with the witch behind him, this will be no easy battle."

Luhan picks up the drawing, examining it closely. "You're not that great of a drawer," he chides, pointing to crudely drawn, gangly legs and a face none too ferocious. "But we get it. Take out the monster to take out the witch."

Chanyeol huffs, running rough fingers through his hair. "If that's all settled then, we will set out after all preparations are made." He gathers up his drawings and makes to stand when Jongin grabs his hand.

"We can do it," is all he murmurs, squeezing Chanyeol's hand in reassurance. "We'll get Minseok back."

They will, Chanyeol knows. He won't stop until they do.

 

 

 

Chanyeol only packs up one satchel and ties it to the spare saddle. It's filled with emergency medicines and bandages, a little food, and water. He stuffs all the papers of their plans into the satchel and ties it all up securely.

First things first: Chanyeol needs his weapons.

They start out into the forest not long after the bag is packed and the saddles are set. Chanyeol is the last to leave, and grabs Minseok's silver arrows stashed behind the front door, knowing that they'll be the witch's biggest weakness. Luhan leads them out of their home and no one looks back. They walk deeper into the forest, Zitao holding Jongin close and keeping a hand clamped tight around the other dragon's. Jongin shivers at his touch but still smiles for the support. Through this part of the forest they trek through, the forest floor is thick with the debris of iridescent green leaves. Rabbits and chipmunks skirt around their feet, unafraid as they pass through. Luhan and Jongdae break through the branches that block their path until they reach the clearing. It's still filled with burnt trees and the proof of Chanyeol's desperate attempt to get out and Jongin's will to survive. Just the sight of the dent in the tree in front of him brings an old ache back into his shoulder.

He quickly spots his mythril sword and sheathes it in his belt before any of the dragons feel its effect. Slung across his shoulder is a bag filled with Minseok's own silver arrows. He glances around for his bow, poking behind a few bushes. Upon turning around, he finds his bow thrust into his face, held in Yixing's hand.

Chanyeol smiles nervously and takes it from the dragon, keeping his eyes downcast. It feels awkward to carry around these weapons again after he'd been without them for so long, but at least they are being put back to their proper use once more.

Now that Chanyeol is armed, they set out onto a different path into the forest. Luhan leads the way once more, though Chanyeol soon finds that he knows this path by heart. The trek through the darkest parts of the trail are no longer fearful, and Chanyeol only has the determination set ablaze within him to get Minseok back.

Everyone is silent until they reach the clearing- each one spreading out so they can transform. Jongin moves closer to Chanyeol, heaving the saddle over his shoulder and dropping it between them when Chanyeol approaches him.

"I'm the least injured right now," he says with determination, fists clenched at his sides. The same fire-red eyes Chanyeol had been so afraid of now provide him hope for their quest. "You'll ride me so we can attack the witch together."

Jongin makes a valid point, and his gaze shows that he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer anyway.

"Okay," Chanyeol sighs. He ruffles Jongin's hair fondly. "Transform. I'll get the saddle set up."

Jongin is the last to transform of the group, the other dragons flying in circles overhead- no doubt anxious to start moving. Chanyeol is still fumbling with the belts on the saddle around Jongin's hind legs when the dragon growls at him and blows fire in his face. At least it gets him to start moving faster.

He finishes tying up the belts and he's barely tied into the saddle when Jongin starts to take off. Chanyeol's heart is pounding as he desperately ties up the last belts as Jongin's wings beat heavy. One, two, three heavy beats of Jongin's wings and they're off the ground and are heading towards the circle of dragons above.

Yixing leads the dragons to the northeast, Jongdae and Luhan in-line behind him. Jongin flies alongside Zitao, growling at him every so often. Chanyeol listens as the dragons communicate with each other along the way, wishing he understood because a sudden odd sense of loneliness overcomes him. It clenches tight around his heart and refuses to let go. The last time he'd flown, Minseok had been around to tell him what the dragons spoke about. Minseok would fly atop Zitao and fly in loops around him with a brilliant smile on his face. Or he'd stand on his feet as he rode Yixing through the clouds that rolled like the waves of the ocean. Thoughts of Minseok keep flashing through his head- the time they'd raced upon Luhan and Jongdae or when they'd both rode upon Zitao. Minseok's smile seems imprinted upon his eyes because no matter how many times he shakes his head and tries to rid himself of the image by blinking, it seems to drive the ache deeper through his heart. A ghostly hold of his waist fills the cold void around him. He clenches his fists tighter on the edge of the saddle, nails brushing against Jongin's scales.

Suddenly the air seems so cold, cuts across his skin like knifes testing the edges of his sanity. He shivers violently with the frigid air that wraps around him and holds him like Minseok had. Then Chanyeol feels his anxious thoughts take over. He shouldn't have let this happen to Minseok- he'd promised to protect him no matter what was thrown their way. He should have taken care of the witch long ago because now the village has been thrown into an eternal rest. There must have been something more he could do to protect everyone, even though he only has two hands and he is only one person.

Jongin's chest rumbles underneath him, a growl resounding in the sky. He blows out fire before he dips from one side to the other- as if to shake Chanyeol off his back. It's as if Jongin could sense his sudden distress. _Snap out of it_ , he imagines Jongin saying. It's a little reassuring for Chanyeol to realize that someone else knows he'd done the best he could, but he simply doesn't have enough arms to take care of everyone.

Their flight continues for what feels like an eternity. The sky doesn't darken through their journey, even once Chanyeol finally wraps his cloak tighter around him and presses closer to Jongin's back upon feeling the sudden frigid cold of the north. The landscape has changed from the dense trees of the Enchanted Woods to a grassy plain- which then morphs into the beginnings of a snowy wasteland. The snow slowly encroaches the mountain side, crawling through the landscape and blurring the ground below.

Their search continues further over the mountain ranges, the cold slowly beginning to affect the dragons. Zitao dips dangerously, leaning too far to the left on a turn and would have taken a dive for the mountain rocks if Jongin hadn't swooped under him and created an up-current for Zitao to ride up. Jongdae nearly flies too close to Yixing and almost takes him out. The cold is settling fast in Chanyeol's own bones and his fingers are beginning to feel the frigid temperatures.

But Yixing suddenly lets out the signal that the castle has been spotted, blowing out a stream of fire in front of him and leading the formation down towards the mountains. It's like a breath of fresh air when Chanyeol finally spots the castle. All his focus is set on the castle nestled in the valley between mountains.

As they start to fly in close, the ground beneath them begins to rumble. Chanyeol frantically glances around for the source but sees nothing. None of the other dragons have yet noticed.

"Circle back!" he yells at the top of his lungs, and luckily Jongin and Zitao manage to turn back but Yixing, Jongdae, and Luhan are still heading straight for the castle. Chanyeol grips the saddle tighter in anticipation.

Just as Yixing approaches a castle window, the ground below the castle begins to tremble and break apart, splitting into a deep darkness below surrounded by snow. Chanyeol watches, appalled, as the Ice Colossus screams from beneath the ground. An icy, jagged hand reaches out from the darkness and slams upon the land alongside the crevice.

Jongdae and Luhan luckily sense the danger and instantly fly off to the side to avoid the beast climbing out of the valley. Yixing instead flies behind the castle and hovers above the ground as the Ice Colossus crawls out from the valley. It's long, jagged ice arms both reach out of the hole and hoist it's massive torso out of the darkness. It's sharp, icy teeth grit together in a growl, the air around it rippling and sending them all back a few feet. Chanyeol grips onto the saddle tighter as the strong gusts of wind begin to push them back. When Jongin is righted, the Ice Colossus stands to rival the height of the castle, long arms the length of castle and the garden combined and legs the height of Junhee's tower.

Chanyeol glances around, looking frantically for sight of the witch. She stands out amongst the snowy background, the black of her clothing fit tight around her body making her stand among the chaos. She floats in the air, as if standing above the clouds.

"Song Qian!" Chanyeol screams, drawing gripping the hilt of his sword nervously. "May this be the last time you act of evil!"

She laughs, wicked- it's a sound so grating like nails screeching down a chalkboard. Her beauty is almost ethereal, and yet her jealousy and anger are consuming of any beauty she may have. "So you think you can finally beat me?" she asks, voice chilling. She acts as though she isn't challenged.

"I won't let you slip away! Not this time!" Chanyeol preps his bow, aligning up a silver arrow but holding it down.

Song Qian snaps her fingers and a wand appears from thin air. "Try your best! But this prince is the pure heart of light I need to gain eternal life."

Chanyeol's breath catches for a moment, but Jongin snaps into movement and he's zooming straight for Song Qian and easily passing the Ice Colossus. He puffs out fire to scare the witch, but with a flick of her wand she's got her defenses up and not even the heat of the fire passes through the barrier.

But their attack against the witch finally begins the battle. Fire begins to light up the sky as Yixing, Jongdae, Luhan, and Zitao try and attack the Ice Colossus. Their fire does most of the damage, slowly melting the jagged hands of the beast, but the wide swings of the beast's arms nearly take out Luhan. Yixing nearly escapes the next swipe of his hand, and the ice the beast blows out catches onto Zitao's tail and would've sent him plummeting towards the ground if Yixing hadn't been close to melt it quickly.

Chanyeol pulls out his sword and swings, but it once again hits the witch's barrier and rebounds back at him. She smirks from within the safety of the bubble, licking her lips as if to tease. It instead sends shivers down Chanyeol's spine.

"We need a new plan," Chanyeol murmurs, resting a hand on Jongin's scales. Jongin seems to understand him and flies away from the witch, increasing their distance and hiding behind the towers of the castle. Behind them, the battle continue with the Ice Colossus. His arms have melted away and his legs are almost bringing him to collapse with the continuous stream of fire from Luhan and Jongdae. Yixing and Zitao serve as distractions, zooming around the beast's head and directing his ice blasts out of the way.

Chanyeol knocks up a silver arrow and holds it poised, aimed straight forward. He manages to balance himself as Jongin dives down, keeping them hidden behind the castle. His breath puffs out in clouds as they wait for the witch to drop her guard.

"On my signal, swoop down and fly at her from under," he whispers, for who knows what ears the witch has around them. Jongin puffs out smoke in assent and keeps himself afloat, trying to keep himself out of the Ice Colossus' reach.

Zitao then lands a well aimed hit to the beast's head, driving his claws into the ice and bringing the beast down to the ground. The beast screeches as it collides with the ground, unable to right itself. It allows Luhan and Yixing to time their fire right and melt away the beast's mouth to stop the sonic screeches.

Chanyeol watches the battle go down from the corner of his eye, still trying to keep focus on where the witch may be. He sees the beast’s arm swing wildly and catch a surprised Yixing from behind. His voice clogs up in his throat as he tries to warn the dragon, but it’s already too late. Yixing is plummeting for the ground fast, transforming back into his human shape midway. Luckily, Jongdae swoops down and catches Yixing, howling and blowing fire right back at the ice beast. 

Chanyeol knows they’ll be okay, but Jongin’s growl refocuses him. His goal is the witch. The dragons can take care of themselves.

"Okay, Jongin," he murmurs, setting the bow for his target. He steadies his shaky hands and steels his sight. "Go."

Jongin dives down and swoops low around the back of the castle. Song Qian still seems focused on the Ice Colossus, healing him and repairing his ice limbs to allow him to fight. When she's in sight, Jongin flies straight up, aiming for her heels floating in the sky. Chanyeol, plants his feet flat on the saddle, holding on desperately as Jongin flies up. Once Jongin starts spitting fire at the witch's heels, blocked by the barrier, Chanyeol jumps.

Arrow knocked, bow drawn, Chanyeol has one shot while the witch is occupied with both Jongin and the ice beast. It's only a split second where Chanyeol has an open window to victory.

He draws the bow and fires.

The silver arrow breaks through the blue of the sky, slips into the gap of the barrier, and sinks into the shoulder of its target.

Song Qian gasps, the arrow through her shoulder finally registering. She screams, the sound grating to the ears as the poison spreads through her body and all her defenses drop. Black bleeds from her wound, spilling over her hands and dripping down from the sky where she stands. She tries to heal herself but the silver poison spreads too fast and her magic stops bursting from her fingertips and she drops. Sudden. Her screams echo as she falls into the dark abyss below.

Chanyeol, for a moment, relishes in the victory. Until he realizes that the momentum of pushing off Jongin's back and leaping into the air for the shot is dying out and he's slowly beginning to plummet into the abyss below.

"Jongin!" he yells as he falls, picking up speed until the dragon catches him halfway to the ground. He lands with a thud on his feet, desperately grabbing for the saddle and holding tight. He eases down shakily into the saddle and sinks bonelessly as Jongin evens out his flight.

Just as the witch is finished, the final screech of the Ice Colossus rings out as it melts away into the abyss. The crevice magically closes up, sealing both the ice beast and the witch away.

For now, and Chanyeol hopes forever.

Jongin flies up to meet Luhan and Zitao midway, leading them in a flight around the castle. Jongdae, with a wounded but relieved Yixing on his back, fly in formation from behind, following their path as they circle around the castle. Chanyeol squints through the glare of the snow and looks for Minseok in all the windows, beginning from the bottom until Jongin circles all the way up to the tallest spire of the castle.

"There!" He points out a small room, the only room lit on the highest floor. Chanyeol does his best to steer Jongin close towards the window to look more carefully inside.

And inside, upon a bed decorated for royalty, is where Minseok sleeps.

Chanyeol carefully steers Jongin close to the window, when he's as close as Jongin can get, he stands up on the dragon's back on shaky legs and carefully steps closer to the window. He takes in a deep breath, clutching at his chest to calm his nerves.

"Here goes," he murmurs, starting a mental countdown. On the count of three, he takes a nervous glance at the dragons surrounding him. By the count of two he leans back on his heels and focuses on the window. When he counts to one, he braces himself and jumps straight for the window, shattering the glass and toppling into the room.

He lands hard on his shoulder, feeling pain flare up from the landing. Glass slides from his clothes and his hair as he stands, littering the floor around his feet. The room, which had been warmed by the fireplace, is suddenly hit with a burst of cold from the open window, and yet Minseok hadn't stirred from the commotion. His face is serene as he sleeps, red lips parted in an exhale as he continues to dream. Chanyeol has seen him asleep like this many times, and it is at least a little comforting that the witch had only stopped here, had only cast a curse. Minseok is not hurt, and finally his heart can feel at ease.

He brushes off the last of the glass and snow still on his cloak and steps forward towards the bed. As soon as he approaches, sits down at Minseok's bedside, he suddenly feels nervous. Doubt still creeps into his heart- that Minseok would be like the rest and there was someone who had always been waiting for him to be rescued.

But Chanyeol knows that it isn't true. Minseok had said it so himself. He would never be like the other princes and princesses because he had felt something upon first sight of Chanyeol.

Love at first sight. Chanyeol would have laughed at the notion before, but now he's sure that it exists.

He closes his eyes, calms his heart, and leans over until his lips meet Minseok's in a kiss. It's a chaste kiss, but it means the world to Chanyeol. It means that Chanyeol will finally have his happy ending.

Minseok stirs, eyes slowly blinking open as his vision clears. His chest rises and falls steadily as he looks up at Chanyeol, warmth swimming in his brown eyes.

"I never imagined I'd ever be a prince in need of saving," he breathes, slowly pulling his hand from the cover. Chanyeol catches his hand and squeezes it, pulling it into his lap. "I thought I'd never care about being in love after being cursed, outcasted, and had spent years living with five dragons."

Chanyeol smiles, rubbing his thumb in circles over the back of Minseok's palm. "Having five dragons does make it hard." From the window comes a burst of fire into the room- most likely Luhan's doing.

But it brings a smile out of Minseok. With Chanyeol's help, he sits up in bed, leaning against the headboard and cradling his head until his vision clears and he can meet Chanyeol's eyes again. "I'm glad you came crashing through the forest, Chanyeol. I could only ever dream about a day I'd find a love like the one I've got with you."

Chanyeol blushes deeply, helping Minseok out of bed and over to the window. The dragons are growling loudly from the window, and Minseok's smile is glowing as he calms down his worried dragons and teases them about their worries.

They board Jongin from the window, Minseok going out first and Chanyeol falling in step behind him. He fits his hands at Minseok's waist, holding Minseok close against him as they fly away from the castle and back towards their home. Chanyeol himself had never dreamed that a love like this would come, that he'd ever get the ending he'd watched so many times with Junhee, Kyungsoo, and Sehun. He'd never dreamed that he'd be someone's Prince Charming. And though his fairytale ending may not end in a wedding fanfare and a parade through the village, it ends happy all the same.

Chanyeol presses a kiss to the back of Minseok's head, sliding his arms around Minseok's waist and pulling the trainer back against his chest. He mumbles, "I love you," and he feels it about to burst from his chest.

Minseok turns around and kisses him, and though it's awkward, Chanyeol imagines that they have a lifetime ahead of them to spend together. Minseok is about to whisper the same words in the breath between their lips, but the moment is quickly ruined by Jongdae spitting fire at their heels behind them. It brings a chuckle out of them, and a promise from Minseok that they'll have the rest of their lifetimes to love. 

They fly home amongst the dragons, finally free of curses and worries that anything will stop them from being in love.


	5. Finale

Chanyeol stirs awake to warmth ghosting over his neck and sunlight streaming in through the window. He takes a moment in stretching, curling his toes in the sheets and slowly opening his eyes to the bright light filtering the room. It’s late in the afternoon, but curled against his broad chest, Minseok is still peacefully asleep. His red lips are parted, chest rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern as he drifts through his dreams.

Chanyeol’s breath hitches, taking in the sight of Minseok. Though they normally wake up together, and Chanyeol decides that there’s something different that makes this moment more special than the rest of the mornings. There’s not a peep from the dragons or from the village kids screaming from outside. Not even Luna is here to scratch his arms or his cheek.

He sighs, shifting closer to Minseok. He cups the trainer’s face and brushes his thumb over his rounded cheeks, feeling his eyelashes flutter against his fingertip. It’s late and they should probably get up before anyone walks in on them, so Chanyeol leans down and peppers kisses over Minseok’s face until he awakens.

“Ngh, Yeol,” Minseok groans, rubbing his fist in his eyes in a poor attempt of opening them. “Lemme sleep… just five more minutes.”

Chanyeol laughs, breathless as he watches Minseok’s lips turn down into a pout. Minseok pulls the covers up higher, up to his mouth, and attempts to shrink himself until he’s a macroscopic dust on the bed.

“Not gonna work today,” Chanyeol exhales, laughing as Minseok wiggles underneath the bed covers. “If we don’t get up, guess who’s going to--”

And just as Chanyeol says it, there comes the sound of shattering glass filling up the warm, morning silence of his bedroom. Startled, he pulls the covers tight around his body like a cocoon- similarly to Minseok. When he gets the courage to get up, he finds a ball rolling around on his floor.

“Sorry!” Jongdae yells from outside. He’s in the middle of playing catch with Luhan and a few kids, their voices now filtering in through the broken glass window. He has his tail shifted and uses it to swipe whatever balls away that the kids decide to throw. “I’ll fix it later, I swear!”

Chanyeol simply groans, forcing himself out of bed and carefully stepping around the glass. Minseok laughs from the bed and throws a pillow at Chanyeol, laughing even harder as it smacks Chanyeol square in the face.

He growls, stomping out the door and through the living room.

Jongin and Zitao are curled up in the living room, backs pressed against the couch and an audience of children at their feet. It’s story time for the kids, and though they have no new books to read, Jongin has become a great storyteller. Chanyeol never would have pinned him to be the kind of guy, but he sees the way Zitao growls under his breath, guiding Jongin through a story and smiling as the gazes of the kids light up at every turn of the tale. 

Outside, Yixing is on the porch. There are a few boys who are marveling at his wings, asking him endless streams of questions. Now that there’s nothing to be afraid of, Yixing answers everything eagerly without missing a single beat. His wings flutter pleasantly as he tells them his own stories that feed into the kids’ eager imaginations.

Chanyeol gathers the dustpan, smiling as Soojung and Sooyeon crawl their way into Jongin’s lap and effectively separate the two dragons to start touching Jongin’s ears, though Zitao obviously doesn’t enjoy it. He walks back into their bedroom and swipes up the glass and trashing it quickly.

“We’ll need to replace the window,” Minseok sighs, petting Luna who has now climbed into their bed. Chanyeol whines, really reluctant to be scratched by Luna today, but Minseok is eagerly beckoning him back to bed with a blush on his face and perfect, red, swollen lips and how is Chanyeol supposed to disagree.

“I’ll just close it up,” Chanyeol murmurs, leaning down and kissing Minseok. His heart flutters pleasantly in his chest. “We’ve got all the time in the world to fix it.”

Minseok smiles, searching for Chanyeol’s hand under the covers and interlacing their fingers when he finds the other’s much larger, warmer hand. “Let’s just go back to sleep for today then,” he hums.

They live a quiet lifestyle now. Minseok and his dragons no longer have to live in fear, and so they’d quickly moved into Chanyeol’s home as soon as they found it safe. The villagers had no problems with the dragons and were especially grateful when they helped out with building projects and any heavy lifting. The kids were the most thrilled, and Chanyeol essentially housed them all because they never seemed to leave the dragons. Everyone had fallen into the story line seamlessly, like they’d never left this village that they’ve made their home. 

“I can hear you thinking,” Minseok murmurs, his eyes slipping closed again. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Chanyeol smiles and kisses Minseok, savoring the way his pulse beats on his skin. “You, Sleeping Beauty.”

Minseok opens one eye. “Sleeping Beauty? That’s a new nickname.”

“Well it’s true,” Chanyeol murmurs. “I swear you sleep half the time.”

At that, Minseok laughs. He tugs Chanyeol closer into his side and throws an arm and a leg around him. “Then sleep with me, Prince Charming. Everything can wait.”

Chanyeol smiles, fixing the covers around them and letting Minseok’s head fall on his chest to sleep. He cards through Minseok’s hair until his eyes begin to droop shut from the rhythmic consistency of brushing through the trainer’s hair. He kisses the crown of Minseok’s head and decides that a bit more sleep couldn’t hurt. There’s not a thing in the world that could separate them now.

Minseok mumbles as he drifts back into sleep, lips trying to form around heavy words that fall loosely from his lips. He falls quiet after, snuggling into Chanyeol’s warm body against him.

And just like that, they lived happily ever after.


End file.
